The pandemic has shown a spotlight on a concerning enrollment trend in higher education: a decrease in the number of Black male students at U.S. colleges and universities. Dr. Reginald Stroble, coordinator of the Black Male Initiative at Anne Arundel Community College, shares his insights into how institutions can recruit and support Black male students. His work was recently highlighted in an article about the declining number of male students in colleges and universities. Reggie shares his own story as well as critical considerations for our work with male students.

This series is being brought to you in celebration of Dr. Denise Swett and her love, commitment and service to higher education. As a seasoned professional and dear friend, Denise touched the lives of thousands of students and administrators. In this episode, Dr. Jory Hadsell, the Associate Vice Chancellor of Educational Technology Services at the Foothill-De Anza Community College District and the Executive Director of the California Virtual Campus shared their approach to leadership in their work with online learning.

Resources: LIFT Leadership Institute for Tomorrow

This series is being brought to you in celebration of Dr. Denise Swett and her love, commitment and service to higher education. As a seasoned professional and dear friend, Denise touched the lives of thousands of students and administrators. In this episode, San Lu and Gail Rulloda of Napa Valley College shared their approach to leadership in their work with Disability Support Programs & Services (DSPS).

San and Gail generously shared an extensive list of resources for us to use in our work:

• Duncan-Andrade, J. (2009). Note to Educators: Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete. Harvard Educational Review, 79(2), 181–194. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.79.2.nu3436017730384w
• Stanton-Salazar, R. D. (2011). A Social Capital Framework for the Study of Institutional Agents and Their Role in the Empowerment of Low-Status Students and Youth. Youth & Society, 43(3), 1066–1109. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X10382877
• Becoming Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success
• Miller, P. M., Brown, T., & Hopson, R. (2011). Centering Love, Hope, and Trust in the Community: Transformative Urban Leadership Informed by Paulo Freire. Urban Education, 46(5), 1078–1099. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085910395951
• Chosen Strategies for Revolutionary Leadership
• Nevarez, C. & Wood, J.L., (2013) Leadership Theory and the Community College: Applying Theory to Practice
• Subini, A. et al. (2013) Dis/ability critical race studies (DisCrit): Theorizing at the intersections of race and dis/ability
• Ferri, B. A., Annamma, S. A., Connor, D. J. (2007) Critical Conversations Across Race and Ability

Much has been written in the last year examining whether we are at a crossroads in higher education. How has the pandemic contributed to a re-envisioning of higher ed, and will pandemic-fueled change last? In this episode, Phil Hill and Kevin Kelly of MindWires and the PhilOnEdTech blog share what the future of higher education might look like, the role technology plays, and lessons we have learned from our year of pandemic learning.

In our inaugural episode of our "Don't Sweat It: Denise Swett Conversations on Leadership" series, Dr. Ding-Jo H. Currie, founder, and director of Leadership Institute for Tomorrow (LIFT) at CSU Fullerton joined us. LIFT aims to cultivate and develop leaders who will make a social impact on justice, equity, and inclusion from the ground up. Dr. Currie reflected on her growth as a leader, offered advice on how we can develop in leadership roles, and shared her philosophy on leading with love.

We will continue our leadership discussion each month this fall semester in an effort to recognize Dr. Denise Swett and her love, commitment and service to higher education. As a seasoned professional and dear friend, Denise has touched the lives of thousands of students and administrators.

As we have discussed in previous episodes, the start of the 2021-2022 school year is hardly a return to “normal.” Recently highlighted in the Chronicle of Higher Education, a team at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has taken a trauma-informed approach to crafting the start to this new academic year - an approach that honors the last year of pandemic learning and life. Dr. Scott Gonert, Dr. Adam Jussel, and Dr. James Topitzes discuss what they’ve learned about their own community’s COVID experiences and how their research has informed their reopening plans for students, staff, and faculty. This promises to be a critical conversation you won’t want to miss!

Check out the Campus Cares website of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Dean of Students Office.

The concern about student learning loss in a year of pandemic learning is both significant and real. We know the benefits of consistent use of learning support resources like tutoring, supplemental instruction, and writing centers. How can we get students to engage with these critical success resources? Listen in as M.E. McWilliams and James Gapinski share their recommendations and insights into how we can maximize student usage of our learning support centers!

Let's hear from our students! In so many of our Friday 5 Live conversations this year, we've discussed the importance of listening to our students. We convened a panel of students representing institutions across the U.S. to share their perspectives on the fall semester and learning in this year of transition. Listen in to hear what students' hopes and concerns are for this academic year as they reflect on a year of COVID learning!