Baltimore Sun Op-Ed - December 12, 2012

Morgan State University is the leading historically black university in the State of Maryland. As of today, our crisis is outrageous and overwhelming to say the least. We need a strong leader in the person of David Wilson at the helm of Morgan State University. In this case, the Board of Regents are wrong in their decision not to extend his contract ("Morgan State refuses to renew contract of president," Dec. 11).

Please take a look at the facts of Mr. Wilson's record and the tremendous progress he has had in two years. Gov. Martin O'Malley has set a statewide goal that by 2025 at least 55 percent of the state's residents age 25-64 will hold at least one degree credential, either an associate's or bachelors. Morgan State University is crucial to these numbers. Similarly, Mr. Wilson is key to bringing this institution to where we need it to be.

The students believe that Mr. Wilson has inherited issues that have yet to be resolved. He has a robust and comprehensive 10 year strategic plan on the table and needs time to implement it. Since coming here, Mr. Wilson has been engaging, open, transparent and above board with all constituents he's interacted with. His vision for the university has been developed through a shared effort that warrants praise of the highest order. The visibility of the university has increased among the state legislators to a level the university has not seen in the last decade. These key relationships are moving the university forward. Removing him at this point in time will only stall the progress the university has made.

The students recommend that the Board of Regents provide a detailed explanation of their reasoning behind not renewing Mr. Wilson's contract. It is our hope that they will reverse this decision based on the facts. We believe in Morgan State University, and we believe in David Wilson.

Eugene Smith, Baltimore

The writer is a graduate student in higher education at Morgan State University.

Wilson to stay at Morgan State for one more year

At the Dec. 28 meeting, the board agreed to negotiate a new, one-year contract that would keep Wilson at the helm through June 2014.

The decision came after the board heard public testimony and a subsequent closed meeting session that lasted nearly three hours.

Wilson said that in the coming year he would work to improve communication between himself and the board. Wilson said he had not done as good a job as he should have in ensuring the board was up-to-date on his plans for the university.
"In order for a university to operate in ship-shape manner, it requires the president and the board to be on the same page," Wilson said.

The board called the meeting Dec. 28 to hear from the public. At least 12 people addressed the board and dozens more crowded into the board’s conference room in solidarity. Board members have been mum about the reason for not renewing Wilson’s contract and ignored pleas for an explanation at the meeting.
“We don’t have authority, we don’t have legal power to change the board’s mind, but we have influence,” said Eugene Smith, a master’s student at Morgan. Smith expressed a sentiment shared by many at the meeting — that the community is speaking out against the board’s vote, “in support not just of Dr. Wilson but of the future of this community.”

Supporters say Morgan improved under Wilson, especially with regard to its oft-strained relationship with neighbors. The Morgan Community Mile project launched under Wilson is intended to strengthen the school’s community ties while building resources for local residents.
Wilson was present at the meeting but did not address the public. He was expected to talk to the board during a closed session.

Others who spoke in support of Wilson included Baltimore City Council members Robert Curran and Mary Pat Clarke.
Curran said it had been “refreshing” to work with Wilson and said no other Morgan administrator had been as receptive to working with the community.
“Morgan State University does not operate in a vacuum,” Curran said to the board.

Alumni and faculty said they feared losing Wilson would hinder the school’s ability to raise money and recruit students. Enrollment and fundraising grew under Wilson, they noted. Enrollment at Morgan increased to 8,011 in 2011 from 7,226 in 2009.

“I can’t understand risking that level of support,” said Jacqueline Lawson, president of the Morgan State University National Alumni Association.

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2012/12/28/backers-say-morgan-state-would-be.html?page=all

Ode to Jazz - Yea her

You don't understand jazz...
Yea her...
Yea her

Like the pace of city lights,
And the glare of urban nights
You don't understand her
Yea her

I love her
The up tempo beat
The rhythm of the street
You don't understand her, Yea her

I expose her vulnerabilities
To intrigue myself to her capabilities
To show my abilities
You don't understand her, yea her

I love her
She puts me in a sentimental mood
She takes me to the honky tonks of inner city blues
You don't understand her, yea her

Down on the A train
Where the damned dont cry
Where the music seems to fly
You don't understand her, yea her

She takes me down to the summer breeze of New Orleans
To the spring streets of Harlem
This is her
You don't understand her, Yea her

I'm on her corner
She has her way with me
She takes my money
And when she is gone I'm left empty

Maybe it's me
Maybe it's me
Maybe it's me
Do I understand her, yea her?

Implications for Student Affairs Professionals Based on Chickering and Cross

Based on the aforementioned literature and the present study several implications can be made for student affairs professionals. Pope discusses that is important for student affairs professionals to pay attention to the multiple realms of development (2000). Student affairs professionals need to be aware of Chickering’s seven vectors of psychosocial development. At the same, student affairs educators should encourage the racial identity of students in these particular organizations. Using other methods to explore Nigrescence model should be used to encourage the process of becoming black (Cross, 1991).

Student affairs professionals that advise these organizations should encourage students to see themselves as crucial members of the organization so that their purpose can be actualized. It is possible that joining organizations like these can foster a lifestyle that influences their decision-making ability and goal-setting skills. Student affairs professionals should be intentional in their engagement with members of these organizations to connect what they are doing in their organization to what they would be doing for their career and in life generally. Student affairs professionals that work with students in these organizations should continue to emphasize the student’s social responsibility and social role in society. Administrators should intentionally engage students to help find their purpose, their role in society, develop cultural understanding, and connect these values to uplifting other. The participants in this study were able to understand who they were and how they are viewed in society through their own conclusions. However, if student affairs professionals are intentional about the holistic development of these students could possibly yield stronger social justice advocates.

Furthermore, student affairs professional should be encourage the racial identity development of internalization among these students. Programs and workshops should be geared towards multicultural understanding of different groups while ensuring the uplift of the black community. If participants continue on this continuum their role in society will continue to increase as they progress through the cycle of psychosocial development with full understanding of their racial identity.

The Relationship between Psychosocial Development and Racial Identity Development of African American Student Leaders in Black Greek-Lettered Organizations

​Black Greek-Lettered Organizations (BGLO’s) have been influential on the leadership development of college students. These organizations were specifically founded for the cultivation of Black college students for their academic and social uplift with a focus on their racial history, background, tradition, and culture of African Americans. It could be implied that Black Greek-Lettered Organizations have had a significant impact on the psychosocial, racial identity, and leadership development of African American college students. The purpose of the present study is to explore the relationship between psychosocial development and racial identity development of members of Black Greek-Lettered Organization. The present study examines the topic with two major research questions and one supplementary question that was discovered throughout the process of conducting the research. These questions are: (a) how is the psychosocial development of African Americans impacted by joining Black Greek-Lettered Organizations, (b) how is the racial identity development affirmed by joining B.G.L.O’s, and (c) how is leadership identity development affirmed in BGLO’s? These questions will be explored in light of the current literature review, interviews of three members of Black Greek-Lettered Organizations, and implications for student affairs professionals.

Literature Review

​According to Chickering (1993), psychosocial development is one of the primary developmental issues that student’s struggle with during their years in college. Chickering and Reisser (1993) provided a framework for how students establish and maintain their identities during college. In the literature, Chickering proposed seven vectors through which students develop and progress in college. Chickering called these vectors a “major highway[s] for journeying toward individuation.” These vectors are developing competence, managing emotions, moving through autonomy toward interdependence, developing mature interpersonal relationships, establishing identity, developing purpose, and developing integrity. The seven vectors provided the structure for psychosocial development. Chickering developed this theory with the understanding of the student’s emotional, interpersonal, ethical, and intellectual spheres of progression in college. The literature discusses how these vectors build on each other. The processes by which these students move through are more like a cycle or a spiral. The vectors should not be examined as stages in which a student merely moves on to the next stage. On the other hand, as students move through this cycle certain vectors interact with each other, a student may deal with one or more vector at a time, or the student may recycle back to a previous vector to reexamine the issue. Throughout the literature it was noted the interaction between vectors 4 – 7. Establishing mature interpersonal relationships, establishing identity, developing purpose, and developing integrity seem to be key features in developing students, particularly in student leaders in Black Greek-Lettered Organizations.

Theoretical Framework

​In Chickering and Reisser’s model (1993), he proposed that these vectors are building blocks of each other. These vectors interact and work together as the student begins to develop throughout college. Developing Competence is the first vector in Chickering’s model. He suggests that student’s intellectual, physical, and interpersonal competence interact to increase a student level of trust in their abilities and integrate their skills to be competitive in the college setting. Next, managing emotions is the second vector and it is in this vector that student develop the understanding of their emotions and how to express their emotions in the most fitting manner. Furthermore, vector three describes students moving through autonomy toward interdependence. In this vector, students develop an increased capacity to be independent from others such as family, friends, and authority figures. Additionally, vector four develops student’s ability to have tolerance and appreciation of other’s differences and the capability to have intimate relationships. In addition, in vector five students begin to establish an identity that builds on vector four. In this vector, the student develops a clear understanding of who they are, become comfortable in their roles in society, and have a greater sense of their social and cultural heritage and how they fit in that tradition. Moreover, in vector six students begin to develop purpose where they cultivate clear and meaningful goals that they commit to the literature discusses that in this stage the students begin to develop “vocations” in which student can deepen their commitments and make meaning of life. Finally, in vector seven, developing integrity, students develop three overlapping values; personalizing values, humanizing values, and congruence. In order to develop integrity, students establish humanizing values that allow them to think of the interest of others more than they think of themselves. In addition, students begin to personalize their values by affirming their beliefs while respecting the opinions of others. At the same time, students develop a sense of congruence by taking their personal values and tying them with their social behavior. It is with this understanding that this paper examines vectors four through seven. The building blocks that interplay between developing mature relations, establishing identity, developing purpose, and developing integrity can play a role in the psychosocial development of African American college students in Black Greek-Lettered Organizations. However, the research is limited in that there are no connections made between the racial identity development and the psychosocial development of members of BGLO’s. Cross (1991) was instrumental in exploring the impact of racial identity development in black college students.
​Scholars such as Cross (1991) described the racial identity development of African Americans. Cross’s theory has implications for black college students as they navigate the process of becoming black. This process of becoming black is a term coined by Cross called Nigrescence. Within this theory, there are three primary concepts, which are personal identity, reference group orientation, and race salience. According to the research, African Americans go through a process by which they socialize their black identity or lack thereof. Individuals establish a black identity through family, friends, and other events that make up their self-concept in the early stages of life. Depending on their socialization of the black experience, individuals merge into three identity types, which are low salience, high salience, and internalized racism. In early adulthood, it is important for African Americans to establish a reference group orientation (RGO’s) that share the same values that they do towards black culture. RGO’s are important for African American’s to strengthening their black identity. The research conducted here pays close attention to reference groups, and in particular, how students are attracted to certain types of groups. It is through student organizations that Black students can form a better sense of their black self by expanding their understanding of their black culture. Black Greek-Lettered Organizations can possibly provide the support as a reference group to help African American’s establishes a stronger connection to their history, tradition, and culture the broader black community.

In view of Cross’s (1991) model, there are six sectors that comprise all three nigrescence patterns. Particular attention examines sector five of the nigrescence model. Adult Nigrescence involves four stages, which are preencounter, encounter, immersion-emersion, and internalization. For the present study, internalization was examined as a key feature that black college students who join BGLO’s could possibly identify with. Internalization is the process through which students resolve their racial identity crisis in three viewpoints. Students become black nationalists, bicultural, or multicultural. Students with a Black Nationalist identity express a political and social justice agenda for the advancement of the black community. Students with a bicultural identity develop concerns with integrating their black identity with the dominant cultures identity. Finally, a student with a multicultural identity accepts a wide spectrum of identities. These students can identify as black, as well as being a member of another group or having another identity. Being black is not the only part of their identity. It is interesting to note that individuals who begin to internalize their black identity become social justice advocates for their particular identity perspective. Being social justice advocates began to develop further in the literature as black college students sought out organizations that enabled them to advance their community, cause, platform, or agenda.

​Further research on student organizations and black identity expressions was explored in Harper and Quaye’s (2007) article entitled, Student Organizations as Venues for Black Identity Expression and Development among African American Male Student Leaders. In this article, Harper and Quaye sought out to identify the types of organizations that Black college students pursue to express their identity. The article pays particular attention to African American men and the avenues they use to express their Blackness. Highlighting Cross’s model of Nigresence as a theoretical framework, Harper and Quaye draw connections to the Internalization stage. Individuals in this stage develop an association towards groups that help them affirm their blackness and allow them to be social justice advocates. A caveat to this stage is that individuals begin to fight for the rights of other minority groups. Harper and Quaye’s sought to understand how student organizations affirm the racial identity development of African American male undergraduates (2007).

Participants in Harper and Quaye’s study expressed the desire to uplift the African American community and “doing their part” toward the issues on campus. It was also interesting to note that participants joined organizations on campus to dismiss certain stereotypes of the black community. For some members of these organizations it was observed that they chose the particular organization because they want to meet the needs of the African American community directly. On the other hand, several participants expressed that they joined majority organizations to be the voice of the African American community and use the resources of these organizations to support the cause of Black and minority student groups. This could possibly be done through student organization collaborations. The central theme is that these black male student leaders desired to be the voice for the rights and privileges of the minority student organizations and in particular, the African American community. This theme can be directly related to Chickering and Reisser’s (1993) seventh vector where students begin to develop humanizing values that allow them to think of others more than they think of themselves. In addition, vector five comes into play as these students desire to find themselves within their cultural heritage and advocating for its right (Chickering, 1993). Another interesting theme that came out of the literature is the development of cross-cultural understanding with other groups. Participants described that they learned how to work with groups of different cultures and backgrounds. It was through these interactions with other student organizations that they developed a greater sense of a social responsibility to others, in particular other minority students. The limitation of this research is that it was mainly conducted with black male student leaders who were from Predominately White Institutions. Future research should examine African American student leaders of both genders. In addition, research should be expanded to Historically Black College and Universities.

Comparatively, previous research had been conducted to examine the racial identity development needs of college students of color, and in particular black college students (R. Pope, 1998; R. Pope, 2000). Pope based her research on racial identity develop by looking at the psychosocial development of college students. Specifically using Chickering’s vectors of identity development, Pope used Establishing and Clarifying Purpose, Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships, and Developing Academic Autonomy to control for racial identity development. The four racial identity statuses that were explored in the study were Black Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, and Native Americans. Establishing and Clarifying Purpose was divided into five categories, which were educational involvement, career planning, lifestyle planning, life management, and cultural participation. Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships were also divided into three categories, which were peer relationships, tolerance, and emotional autonomy. It should also be clarified that Pope based the research in this article on earlier research conducted by Chickering. Thus, the names of the vectors described in this literature are different from the vectors described in the aforementioned literature review. Establishing and Clarifying Purpose was changed to Developing Purpose. Likewise, Developing Academic Autonomy was changed to Developing Competence. Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationship remained the same in the literature. The changes were roughly due to Chickering’s new approach to the literature and broadening their implications (Chickering & Reisser, 1993).

The results of the data from this article described that there was a significant relationship between psychosocial development and racial identity development. It was noted that the main psychosocial factors that contributed the most to racial identity development were Developing Purpose, Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships, and Developing Competence. Pope (2000) suggests that psychosocial development and racial identity development go hand-in-hand. Students need to resolve their racial identity issues while they advanced through the vectors of psychosocial development. For student affairs professionals, attention must be given to the racial identity development of the student before addressing their psychosocial needs. The research suggests that Developing Purpose was the most essential vector for African American in the study (Pope, 2000). These students had a better sense of social responsibility and a greater sense of their calling in life. It is also interesting to note Internalization was related to Developing Purpose and Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships (Pope, 1998). Internalization and the two vectors mention above highlight the amalgamation of identity (who am I), personal goals in life (how do I know), and building strong relationships (how do I connect with others) (Pope, 1998). As we see in this literature, a hint of Baxter Magolda’s Self-Authorship is within the research as well. Although it was not studied in this research, self-authorship could play a role in how students go through the process of becoming black and formulating their purpose and identity. Further research should examine the relationship between self-authorship and psychosocial development theories.

Methodology, Data Collection, & Discussion were excluded from this blog to protect the participants of this study - See "BGLO - Implications for Student Affairs Professionals."

Beyond Affirmative Action

Opportunity Beyond Affirmative Action: How Low-Income and Working-Class Black Male Achievers Access Highly Selective, High Cost Colleges and Universities

​Ecological approaches to college student development have increasingly become a key contributor to the work of student affairs professionals. The literature discusses several forms of ecological approaches that have been research in the last decade. Human ecology examines the interactions, dependence, independence, and interdependence of humans with the environment. These interactions can be based within the individual, groups, or societies that are within the environment. The literature discusses environment as the primary external forces that may have influences on the individual whether that be the home, workplace, and (as we will discuss) the campus environment. Developmental ecology notes that development of the person cannot be examined without consideration of the outside contexts of the developing individual. Campus ecology highlights the development of the student as it relates to the interaction of the campus environment. Uncovering the dynamics of campus ecology one would look how the campus influences the student and how the student influences the campus.

Overview

​In Opportunity Beyond Affirmative Action: How Low-Income and Working Class Black Male Achievers Access Highly Selective, High Cost Colleges and Universities, Shaun Harper and Kimberly Griffin (2011), sit down with several students to discuss the decisions and their implications for choosing an elite institutions for their undergraduate career. This article uses the anti-deficit achievement framework to describe the enablers rather than the barriers to academic achievement. The authors specifically examine the experiences of students who are the least likely to enroll due to financial resources. Harper and Griffin discuss the policies and programs that enabled these students to successfully venture their way to these colleges and universities. It also suggests further actions for best practices and policies for student affairs professionals, institutions of higher education, and government officials. I believe the main purpose of this article is to show the factors that can contribute to college access for black males without solely being based on affirmative action. Often times, the past and present literature focuses on the factors that inhibit or prevent black males from attending high class colleges and universities. Although, it is not stated explicitly, I will make clear connections through examples from the research that was conducted to ecological approaches to college student development. I saw that this theory was prevalent in much of the article and could have implications for the types of environments that enable black male success.

Method and Data

​The population that was selected and interviewed consisted of black male high achievers who were from low-income or working class backgrounds that were able to enroll, attend, and successfully matriculate through these expensive predominately White private institutions of higher education. Using eighteen institutions, forty-two participants self-reported being among low-income and working-class backgrounds. Participants self-report described 38.1 percent as low-income, 61.9 percent as working class. Family structures were labeled as 45.2 percent single parent and 50.0 percent two parent households. Participant demographics suggested that more than 70 percent were from families that neither parent had attained a bachelor’s degree. Participants were interviewed based on previous literature on programs, policies, and practices that enabled college access. Several themes were categorized into three domains that will be discussed further in the findings section of this paper.

Findings

​It is interesting to note that no participant in the study knowingly suggested that they received special treated for their race throughout the admissions process. However, it should be noted that 39 out of the 42 participants reported that they had been accused by White peers of entrance into the institution solely based on affirmative action policies and practices. The three themes that stood for the researchers were the major programs and policies institutions both on campus and out of college that contributed to the access for these students. The first type of program is the “specialty high school contexts and independent school access initiatives for urban youth.” This type of enabler is the environment that prepared the student for access to these colleges. These students are from urban communities but had privileged school environments, such as magnet schools, that established a strong college-going atmosphere throughout K – 12. Also, an outside organization called Prep for Prep was attributed to with the ability to help shape and set paths to college through visits, scholarships, and mentorship by counselors. The types of encouragement that was given to these students pushed them to apply to competitive colleges. One student mentioned that “You don’t go to these Ivy League – caliber high schools and then not go to college.” Now, I want to refer back to our reading to connect the dots. The environment that these students had the access to provided them with the key concepts for student development. The interactions between guidance counselors in the classroom and other officials like at Prep for Prep provided the needed student-interaction to enable success into college. The person in the context of this small microsystem encouraged particular forms of interaction between the student and authority figures that pushed these students.
​Secondly, the article discusses another type of enabler that allows for college access for black males. “Collaborative college access and talent identification programs for urban youth,” provided for these students direct scholarships and other types of funding that enabled students to cover the cost of their tuition, books, and room and board. One of these groups was called the Posse Foundation, which actively seeks out ways to engage black male high achievers. A posse was instrumental in helping these student transitions into college and provided further assistance during their first year of college. Also, these students were engaged by the foundation to unveil the educational value of these students and gave them a sense of purpose and meaning. They did this by grouping similar students’ demographics by socioeconomic backgrounds and career interests. Through this mesosystem the student now has several external structures that support the “developmentally instigative characteristics” of the student. I also want to plug in the intersectionality of Schlossberg’s theory of transition and highlight these are important events that impact the student through the 4 S’s. In particular, support is essential to the student. As a student identifies support systems that can affirm, encourage, and push the student can function as a successful transition for why these black male college students felt that they could achieve in a college setting.
​Finally, another common access enabler that was highlighted within the research were the institutional efforts for funding for students. These institutional funds provided access to the high achieving black males to gain entrance into these Ivy League institutions. “Institution based, no-loans, and zero-contribution initiatives,” is the theme that described the types of funding that these students received upon entrance into the particular institution. For these students who come from low-income and working class families the financial aid package was the biggest faction in choose the high class university over the state school close to home. The exosystem that surrounds the student in the college environment provided the policies and procedural structures that allowed for greater access.

Conclusion and Assessment

​This study main purpose was to examine the enablers to college access for high achieving black males. The article put a special emphasis on affirmative action policies and their need. Although it had mentioned several cases of students who were afforded the opportunity to attend these elite institutions, the authors failed to mention their stance on affirmative action itself. They do not mention if the standing policy should be left or removed. The article indirectly suggest that the policy should remain but subtly suggests that policies should be in place like the ones aforementioned that would enable minority student to attend college. The conclusion and suggestions are a bit general and too vague for the benefit of student affairs professionals. It suggests that there should be more policies in place that would allow for more student access into these high class institutions without providing the “how to” methods.

"Yo.. Can I Live"

Is it weird that I’m in higher education, attended an HBCU for my graduate and undergraduate degree, desire to mentor African American college age men, and I am a black educated male. Yet, I do not want to study or do research on black males in higher education. It just seems like everyone and their baby momma has researched this student population. They write these articles with the existential question of “how to engage black males?” But yet for me the topic has been over-saturated and drenched. Now, the key phrases used or buzz words to engage black men are consistently in every article that I read. It is not that I am not interested in this student population but... Can I live? Yes, there are a disproportionate percentage of black females to males in college. Yes, it is a "needs" population. But I just get tired of reading these articles from these privileged professors who are usually white male, middle class, Anglo, and Protestants telling me (a black male) how "I" learn or operate in certain circumstances. Even better, how being a successful educated black male makes me the exception and outlier. The only exception is Dr. Shaun R. Harper who hits the nail on the head. I've read all his articles in hopes to get into Penn (plug). That being said, I will not do my journal critique on engaging black males in higher education for my Contemporary College Student class due Nov. 8. Look for my next blog.

Deconstructing Whiteness

Deconstructing Whiteness and Understanding Critical Race Theory

​Overt forms of oppression are prevalent in our society today. These forms of oppression will continue unless we actively fight against them in all forms and fashions. In a predominately white institutions (PWI), that seeks to have the attendance of a multicultural and diverse population have several issues that must be overcome in order for intellectual and cultural understanding can be reached across cultural barriers. In this week’s readings I took a particular interest in understanding how to engage white students at a multicultural institution. Also, I wanted to better understand the techniques that we must have in order to engage black males at a predominately white institution. My own reasoning to understand the complexity to white racial identity development is to successfully engage with white students when I am an administrator. More importantly, due to the fact that my engagement with white students at an HBCU was limited to none, I think it would serve me best to truly understand the nature behind white racial identity development. Furthermore, it is important as an administrator to understand the multifaceted reasons for disengagement of black males at a predominately white institution. I do not believe, nor want, to work at a historically black college and/or university for the rest of my life. It would behoove me to understand how to engage black male students at a PWI now so that I can better serve this population when I am in a position to do such. Finally, I took an interest in these two topics for the perceived interconnection between deconstructing whiteness while understanding critical race theory. I thought it would be interesting to look at the two theories to understand how black men can understand whiteness to further their cause of equality among whites and white males in particular.
​
Several questions arose when I was reading the literature on engaging white students at a multicultural institution. Before we can get into the questions, we must first understand the literature. I will expound on two of the theories that were presented. While exploring white privilege we must first recognize that it is a system that promotes the benefits of the dominant group and penalizes the minority group, whether those results are direct or indirect. It was found that white students 1) had no understanding of white privilege or completely denied, 2) understood white privilege but did not take actions against it, and 3) understood white privilege and took action and solid commitment. Within the theory of White Racial Identity Development, a white student must go through a process where they abandon racism as they develop a non-racist white identity. This process includes: Contact, Disintegration, Reintegration, Pseudo-Independence, Immersion/Emersion, and Autonomy. I will not go into each stage. However, I found that each stage or status does not necessarily lead to the next. For example, how can one go from deintegration (where the individual seeks to resolve the situation) to reintegration (where the individual engages in hatred, anger and fear), therefore I question the fluidity of these statuses. As we look at Deconstructing Whiteness, I liked the interconnection that was present. It was suggested that deconstructing whiteness would serve as a precursor to white racial identity development. The five steps are: 1) understanding culture, 2) learning about other cultures, 3) recognizing and deconstructing white culture, 4) recognizing the legitimacy of other cultures, and 5) developing a multicultural outlook. The questions that arose for me in this chapter may not be answered right now but gave me a lot to this about. These questions were: how do we promote the white racial identity of white students at an HBCUs? How do we promote a multicultural campus at an HBCUs? Can other racial groups deconstruct whiteness (rather, is there a need to deconstruct it? If so, why?). Also, if we deconstruct whiteness, how can we to a greater extent deconstruct white supremacy. These were some of the thoughts that I was thinking as I read.
​
With this understanding of white racial identity development and deconstructing whiteness, I began to read about black male engagement at a predominately white institution. I dove into the literature with the aforementioned questions about white racial identity development. What stood out to me most was thought process behind critical race theory (CRT) as it aimed to understand the inequitable distribution of power among the racial groups. In a previous chapter that discusses CRT, it was mentioned that supporters of CRT use it to create dialogue about the racist structures that are present within the campus and classroom that do not benefit other cultures. In this chapter, Harper seeks out to dismantle the need to only support black s when it is convenient for white self-interest. Engaging with black males should be highlighted to retain black men and thus increase retention rates as a whole but also to develop cross cultural understanding. On both sides of the aisle (if you will), students, faculty, and staff must be willing to understand, accept, reject, and active fight against white privilege and thus deconstruct it. Finally, there should be several strategies that should be in places to assist the engagement and development of black males without the “fix them” mentality.

Racial and Ethnic Identity

​In this country, we have the privilege of certain inalienable rights that we are entitled to. Some of these rights include the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The freedom speech, the right to bear arms, the right to assemble, and the right to free press are just to the name a few of our constitutional bound rights. The United States of America is a nation that prides itself as being a melting pot of racial diversity and of ethnic opportunity. However, we have not been a nation that has been gun-ho on opportunity and rights of minority groups. Within our tainted history, we have the near extinction of the indigenous people of North America that we know use the title of Native American or American Indian. Also within our history is the enslavement of those of African and Caribbean descent. At another point of our history, we encouraged the mock concentration camp type imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II. In points of our history there have been cries for equality and opportunity that this nation was built upon. Yet several minority groups were not privy to have those certain inalienable rights that were previously discussed.

For minorities and African American in particular, it was not until the end of slavery, after the Reconstruction Era and the 1954 Supreme Court hearing of Brown V. Board of Education that “the doctrine of separate but equal has not place” in the realm of higher education. The court then ordered the state to end segregation “with all deliberate speed.” Although, this law had no bearing on institutions of higher education, this opened the door for students of color to attend primary and secondary white schools that were once segregated. Another case that has implication in higher education is the United States V. Fordice, which asserted that institutions of higher education must completely abandon segregated system like public schools of education. Fordice suggests that university systems do more than simply adopt and implement “race-neutral policies.” Institutions of higher education must dismantle all forms that may be traced back to prior Brown V. Board of Education policies (de jure segregation) or those policies that create division and other forms of segregation.

In this short and concise overview of judicial hearings that ultimately leads to what some call affirmative action preferences; I summed up the basic principles behind so called affirmative action. In present day institutions of higher education are now encouraged to have populations that are more diverse and race-conscious as the articles have stated. Briefly, the major take away points that I got from this week’s chapter reading are the racial identity development models. I thought it was interesting that the researchers have developed stages in which racial groups developed within their own identity. The first stage is conformity, the individual seeks to identify the dominant white culture while rejecting their cultural heritage. In dissonance, the individual experiences instances where their idea of the white culture is not what they expected and begin the journey of understanding their culture. Resistance and Immersion stage encompasses an individual’s desire to reject all forms of the dominant culture and immerse themselves in their own culture. This leads to introspection where the individual tries to find a balance between the two cultures; the dominant white culture and his cultural heritage. For those individuals who decide to continue this balance of two cultures discover an awareness that helps them articulate their knowledge and experiences of the two cultures. There is a plethora of literature that we have read this week that shows educators how each racial group develops. Also points to how we can better understand and help the student development process of each ethnic group.

Within this week’s readings, we were also instructed to read several articles that are in reference to the Fisher V. University of Texas at Austin Supreme Court case. The Supreme Court has decided to hear a case brought to them about race-conscious admissions process at the University of Texas at Austin. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld that these race conscious policies were constitutional because it would achieve diversity through the state law guaranteeing students in the top 10th of their high school class admissions. However, the Fisher V. University of Texas at Austin presents to me the urgent need to uphold affirmative action preferences. The young lady was not admitted because of her race. She was not admitted because she did not make the grade. She fell way below the top 10 percent plan of Texas. Asserting that other racial minorities were privileged to attend the university because they were Black or Latino discredits the deserving academic achievements of those students. Issues like these make it hard for students in these racial categories to prove that they can compete academically if they are always viewed under the lens that they are here because they are affirmative action’s cases. If racial and ethnic diversity is not considered in the admissions process of institutions of higher education we will again have de jure segregative practices. Personally, this case only shows the need for Historically Black Colleges and Universities to be supported with all the resources they need to prepare our students.

Engaging with Black Students at a PWI

​I have never studied at a predominantly white institution. So I cannot talk extensively on the experience of black students or other minorities in regards to engagement in the classroom. However, I have a lot of friends who attended a PWI during their undergraduate years. I would always talk with them about their experience at their particular institution. It would be interesting to me how my experiences compared to their experiences. I can recall one conversation that I had with one of my friends. She attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was an engineering major. She was an African American and she came from a very affluent family. Her perspective was totally different from mine. She would often tell me that she “just doesn’t get.”
She didn’t get why Blacks still felt the need to attend a Historically Black College or University. We would have long debates about the differences about attending a well-endowed university and a not so well-endowed university. Of course, the striking different was that her university had all the resources, the technology, and instructional capacity to provide her with a good education. At the same time, I would point out the benefits of attending a historically black institution. I would talk about the level of support I would get from my instructors and advisors. I would share that I did not believe that my thoughts were not valid and that what I said really mattered in the classroom. She would then share with me how she would attend conferences and would feel that she was the black token. She pushed herself to the extra mile because she thought she needed to prove to “others.” That she was able to compete on the academic level. I would then share with her my own experiences of attending conferences and research opportunities.
I did not feel that I was the token black guy in a crowd of other institutions. But I remembered who I was and where I came from. I told her that in those situations I would lean on my culture and black heritage. I would share with her the affirmation of my blackness was affirmed by attending an HBCU. I shared with her the book I was reading for one of my classes, “Selected Poems of Langston Hughes.” She immediately grabbed and read the poems that were in it. She exclaimed how she wished she would have received this while she was in undergrad. Although there were several benefits to attending a predominately white institution she mentioned that she wished she would have had that type of mentorship and guidance that I had received.
In this week’s readings I really took interest in understanding critical race theory, stereotype threat and the other theories that were found in Harper and Quaye’s book. Briefly, critical race theory discusses how minority students are within an institution that minimizes their educational success in White spaces. Even if the individual is academically successful, they may still feel suppression of their identity. I saw this a lot while talking to my friend. Although I did not know much about critical race theory at the time, I realize now that she purposely put herself in situations to be the token black person. The reason she did this was not be better than her black counterparts or to compete with her white counterparts. It was not her effort to “act white.” However, her actions showed me that she was subconsciously challenging the dominate status quo of her institution. She actively fought forms of microagression. Through this she was able to find her voice and avenues through her voice could be heard. By this she was able to create forms of liberation and change her perception of the institution she attended. I also notice, in retrospect, that her attitude toward learning could also be based on the fear of not being reduced to the stereotype of the black culture could possibly be seen at these types of institutions. She even felt the pressures to revert to the thoughts of those around her that have formed their opinion of the black community. Through her research I see that it was also an avenue through which she was able to bridge the gap of cultural differences.
I thought this week’s reading was very relevant to my class in Student Development Theory. I saw the many connections that this could be applied when student affairs educators are engaging with students. We should always push students to make meaning of their college experience. We should ensure that we understand the external factors that contribute to a students development. At the same time, we should be aware of the internal factors that may make up the student. I am referring to the students multiple identities that may not be obvious. We must be careful as we advise students to ensure that they are going through the meaning making process and validating the culture of others while retaining confidence within the self.

Experiential Learning

Eugene Smith
October 3, 2012

Experiential Learning

​In order to understand this topic, I had to put it in context of my previous understanding of learning. Kolb relied on the work of Piaget to formulate the research that was conducted. As a former student of psychology, I was interested in learning and developmental psychology. For me to fully understand the research and the literature that I have read I went back to the research of Piaget. In Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, he concluded that there were four stages of development that children go through. These stages are: 1) sensorimotor, 2) pre-operational, 3) concrete operational and 4) formal operational.
Within Piaget’s research, he discussed several topics that I believe relate to Kolb’s theory of Experiential Learning. Piaget saw that through each stage of development, children have schemas that they use from one stage to the next. A schema is a basic building block of knowledge that is used and helps formulate our understanding of a greater concept. As we mature and are exposed to new environments and experiences, we rely on our previous knowledge in order to understand a greater concept. For example, in order to understand Experiential Learning I am referring back to my previous knowledge of Piaget’s Cognitive Development. As Piaget’s theory further develops, the concepts of assimilation and accommodation that have direct implications to Kolb’s theory.
Piaget further discussed his theory of cognitive development by describing that learning is a form of adaptation. This happens when a child’s intellectual growth adjusts to new experiences and concepts. These new experiences and concepts are assimilated using existing schemas to understand the new concept. On the other hand, if a child is not able to understand the concept or experience the child then has to accommodate and change their understanding because their existing schema does not work. This is a brief understanding of Piaget’s previous work on Cognitive Development that I used in order to understand Kolb’s theory of Experiential Learning.
Kolb discusses four stages of learning that is in response to a cycle. Kolb stated that “learning is a process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience.” The four stages of Experiential Learning are: 1) Concrete Experience, 2) Reflective Observation, 3) Abstract Conceptualization and 4) Active Experimentation. Concrete Experience (CE) is described as a full involvement in learning and the learning process. Reflective Observation (RO) is the process where the individual contemplates on previous experiences. Abstract Conceptualization (AC) is defined as a thinking dimension where the individual’s individual formulates and integrates into daily activities. Active Experimentation (AE) is designated as a doing dimension where the individual incorporates all new experiences to form new ideas. Although, the concepts of Experiential Learning are described as stages they are actually in a cycle and the individual must choose which learning ability they will use each time they encounter a new learning environment.
It should be interesting to note that Kolb’s theory is presented to us as a “process of socialization,” and we are constantly being socialized on a day to day basis. I connect this understanding of socialization to higher education and becoming a student affairs professional. We are constantly being socialized to the norms of student affairs professional. This process of development occurs through acquisition, specialization, and integration. Students acquire the knowledge and understanding of their field. The student then begins to specialize in the field by obtaining certain skills that would make them effective in the field. From here the student then integrates their understanding of the field into their daily work life and professional development.
Furthermore, Kolb’s theory describes learning styles that a learner must choose in order to learn effectively. Kolb’s learning styles are convergers (AC + AE), divergers (CE + RO), assimilators (AC + RO), and accommodators (CE + AE). Convergers are problem solvers and decision makers. Divergers are imaginative and aware of values and meaning making. Assimilators use inductive reasoning to integrate new ideas. Finally, accommodators implement plans, complete tasks and are open to new experiences. I personally believe that I see myself as an accommodator because I am goal oriented and I am open new ideas and experiences. I also learned that learning styles can change over time and are based on new learning experiences.

Peace Corps Blurb (my application is turned in no plagiarism)

I was walking through the streets of South Korea in the summer of 2012 when I was approached by a young Korean woman who asked me a simple question. That question was, “What is peace to you?” She had a piece of paper on a clip board with one word and that word was “peace.” As I looked at the paper, I thought to myself, what is peace to me? And the only thought that came to my recollection was that peace loves one another. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated in one of his many speeches that, “We are caught in an escapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” I truly believe and live by this quote. We are caught in this human experience that connects us to a deeper sense of self and what it means to be human. To truly have peace we must love each other. In order to have this love for one another, we must understand each other. It is through the shared experience of culture, language, and community that one can understand and love another. Throughout my life I have had different and varied experiences that have given me a greater appreciation of other cultures. This understanding has formed my life goals to become an advocate of breaking cultural barriers through education. As a Peace Corps volunteer, my goals in life will be reached as I aspire to become a University President. Having this experience will allow me to see the world with a different perspective. I desire to join the Peace Corps to serve the global community beyond my own culture so that I can connect to this “garment of mutual destiny” and positively affect another community through education. Also, as a Peace Corps volunteer, I have a broad understanding that there will be several challenges that I must face. I believe that I can meet the Peace Corps 10 Core Expectations. The most challenging aspect of the Peace Corps 10 Core Expectations is the first one – preparing my personal and professional life to make a commitment to serve abroad. In May 2013, I will be graduating with my Master's of Arts in Higher Education Administration. First, I have made a commitment and a dedication to the Peace Corps to ensure that I can give it my all by not committing to any other job or degree program in the next year. Secondly, I have let my family and friends know that I will be joining the Peace Corps. Finally, I am at peace with the understanding that I have to let everything go in order to pursue my dream. In order to bring peace and friendship to the world Mahatmas Ghandi stated, “Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.” My life in the United States cannot affect the work that I wish to accomplish in the near future.

Young Thurgood... Helping an old law professor

I received an email from a good friend and mentor, law professor Larry S. Gibson. He and I worked on several committees together at Morgan State University as we tackled issues on Morgan's right to be acknowledge for beginning sit-ins at lunch counters long before the students in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is an accomplished man and is one of my academic idols as he approaches history and law with fervor and scholarship. This December he will be publishing a book entitled - Young Thurgood: The Making of a Supreme Court Justice. This volume is quite arguably the most extensive historical account of the life of Thurgood Marshall before his work in 1936 with the NAACP. It should be an interesting read and I am excited to pre-order it myself. Once I have a copy I will do a review with my thoughts on the book. Below you can read the email I received this morning.

"My new book, Young Thurgood:The Making of a Supreme Court Justice, will be released by Prometheus Books this fall. Many historians regard Thurgood Marshall as the most important American lawyer of the 20th century. The book is the first depth examination of Marshall's formative years and shows how his personality, priorities, and work habits were shaped by people and events in Maryland before he joined the NAACP staff in 1936.

The book contains much information about Baltimore and Maryland in the 1920s and 1930s. The website about the book is http://www.youngthurgood.com

Please do an old law professor a favor. Pre-order the book now at Amazon.com :
http://www.amazon.com/Young-Thurgood-Making-Supreme-Justice/dp/1616145714 .
The pre-order price is $21.

Pre-orders are very important, because they affect how much effort the publisher will spend promoting the book nationally and how much media attention the book will receive. Your pre-order could help this book become a bestseller.

Although Young Thurgood will later be released as an e-book, you will want the hardback. That way I can sign it for you. Furthermore, the 188 photographs, maps, and images throughout the 400 pages will make it an attractive tabletop book and an excellent holiday gift."

College Readiness - A Review

College readiness is being examined in Texas. They are reviewing students ability to perform on the college level from their level of preparedness in high school. Please see the previous post to gain fuller understanding of the decisions being made by policymakers, educators, and the business community. From the article I want to examine a few key points that I noted when I read it myself.

"Because colleges are not good at gauging what remedial courses students need, some experts say, students fall through the cracks or give up because they are not progressing toward a degree. They cite the numbers who are “underplaced” in remediation because they did not take the placement exam seriously when they got to campus, or they have spent time out of school — and quit out of frustration or boredom.

Others point out that deficiencies in students’ secondary education are often the reason they are in remedial courses."

To fully understand the study that was conducted in Texas I would need to acquire the study itself. Then I can fully analyze the study instead of using a secondary source. However, I have gathered a few questions of my own in regards to the research that was conducted.

I will go through a brief synopsis of the questions I have without going too in depth due to the fact that this is not a paper but a blog. My first question is were all institutions of higher education examined if there were deficiencies towards secondary education in Texas. If so, how were the Historically Black Universities and Colleges (HBCUs) examined? Were they included in the examination of the higher education system in Texas or outside of the system? Within the state of Texas there are nine HBCUs some of which are Paul Quinn College, Prairie View A&M University, and Wiley College to name a few. A constant debate within higher education is in regards to the relevancy of HBCUs? Well, how relevant are the institutions of higher education in Texas if most students are placed in remedial courses and are under placed?

As you can tell, my main focus to this study would be towards the HBCUs within the state and how this study of college readiness impacts state funding towards these institutions. I will add more to this blog as I continue to study the report.

ehs - 8/06/12

College Readiness... Article to be discussed...

Policymakers, educators grapple with getting students ready for college

The short answer to whether most Texas students leave public schools prepared for college? No.

Fewer than one in two students met the state’s “college readiness” standards in math and verbal skills on ACT, SAT and TAKS scores in 2010. Though average SAT scores in both verbal and math dropped between 2007 and 2010 — a trend that state education officials have attributed to an increase in students taking the test — more students in the same period of time have met the state’s standards for college ready graduates, largely because of improvements on their state standardized tests and the ACT.

But that increase is only a slim silver lining in what appears to be a large storm cloud.

“It’s still pathetic,” Dominic Chavez, a Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board spokesman, said of the ACT scores. “It’s still a very low number, and nobody is satisfied with it.”

Getting to a number that is satisfying is a task that policymakers, educators and the business community have grappled with for years. And although the current data shows that something is not going right, pinpointing why is difficult. Part of the trouble is that while it is easy to define what skills students need to be successful in college, so far the measures used to assess how they lack those skills have returned an incomplete picture.

Debates over lagging performance at community colleges and four-year institutions can devolve into finger-pointing between the higher education and K-12 camps, each blaming the other for students’ poor performance at the post-secondary level.

Because colleges are not good at gauging what remedial courses students need, some experts say, students fall through the cracks or give up because they are not progressing toward a degree. They cite the numbers who are “underplaced” in remediation because they did not take the placement exam seriously when they got to campus, or they have spent time out of school — and quit out of frustration or boredom.

Others point out that deficiencies in students’ secondary education are often the reason they are in remedial courses.

In an effort to provide better data for the discussion, the state in June approved a contract with the College Board to develop a statewide placement assessment, which all institutions would be required to administer to incoming students who do not meet the benchmark scores on state standardized exams or college admissions tests. The new assessment is intended to provide a uniform view — different colleges offer exams from different vendors — and detailed diagnostics to give a better idea of what post-secondary students are missing. That in turn would allow colleges, if needed, to offer a three-week review of trigonometry instead of a yearlong review of introductory math. And for high schools, the diagnostics could offer a closer analysis of where they are coming up short.

“I don’t think we have a good identified gauge over the past because we’ve been using a test that has no diagnostics,” Richard Rhodes, the president of Austin Community College, said of measuring college readiness. “We also haven’t across the board done a good job in preparation to take the test.”

A growing body of research questions whether the measures that students must pass to avoid taking the placement test — the state standardized and college admissions exams — can accurately predict how well a student is prepared for college. Studies support that high school grades, not placement or admissions exams, give a better picture of whether students are ready for college, said Pamela Burdman, an education policy analyst who recently wrote a report on the role of placement exams in assessing college readiness for Jobs for the Future, a Boston-based nonprofit. And the best measures, she said, use some combination of high school grade point averages and standardized test scores.

The move toward the single statewide placement assessments puts Texas at the forefront of states that are tackling how best to evaluate students as they enter college, Burdman said. Although it should be considered an advance, she said, the state was still several years away from determining if the method does a better job in predicting students’ ability to succeed.

If the state can do a better job of assessing what students need once they get to college, it also has implications for the help they receive in high school. Some community colleges across the country, including El Paso Community College, have provided students the option to take a college placement exam their junior year of high school. Once they receive their score, they can use that to guide their coursework in their remaining year. Burdman said it could serve as an early intervention to increase students’ chances at success before they get to the point where they need remedial work.

A few school districts across the state have collaborated with local community colleges in another way to increase their graduates’ likelihood of success in higher education. At early-college high schools, students can take a higher number of dual-credit courses earlier than their peers at traditional high schools, allowing them at times to leave school with an associate’s degree.

Such programs can also give the school officials who institute them a window into the challenges of increasing the number of students prepared for college.

West of Abilene, the Roscoe school district has invested money earned from area wind energy development into becoming a state-of-the-art early-college school, with a goal that 90 percent of its students graduate with an associate’s degree by 2015 — at a time when Superintendent Kim Alexander projects that about the same percentage will be from low-income and English-language-learning backgrounds.

Roscoe’s example helps illustrate the difficulties of measuring students’ “college readiness.” In 2010 the district still lagged behind the state average with just more than one in three students graduating ready for college in both English and math. But 55 percent of its students were already taking college courses through the dual credit program, compared with the state average of about 25 percent.

Alexander said that although he believed they were on their way to meeting the 2015 objective, the disconnect between the skills students need for college coursework and those that the standardized tests measure made it more difficult.

“Everybody is starting to see the issue, and everybody is trying to raise their standards, whether it is higher ed or public ed,” said Alexander, whose district has just under 400 students. “It’s just not in sync at this point in time.”

That may improve with the continuing transition to the STAAR exams, the state’s new standardized assessments, which are supposed to be better aligned to coursework. But Alexander said some of the issues in the current system would probably remain. For instance, he said that if students are taking a dual credit course, they must take both a standardized exam and a college final — something that he said was a deterrent for both schools and students who want to take that step.

“You’ve got that ever-present pressure on the high-stakes testing that really hogties your creativity to do some things,” he said. “There’s just some really tough issues that if you are wanting to be innovative and you are wanting produce a student who is really college and workforce ready, these students are almost being penalized for choosing that path.”

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://trib.it/NUaeOX.

Student Motivation Part 1

Student Motivation in a Higher Education System
​Recently, there has been more research that looks at learning, performance, and motivation among students of all levels. Researchers have looked at three components that interact with student’s learning and motivation: self-regulation, perceived competence, and self-efficacy. According to Rimm-Kaufman et, al. (2009) self-regulation is the ability for students to manage their emotions, focus their attention, and inhibit some behaviors while activating others. A student who is able to self-regulate their behavior will have to focus their attention on school work, lessen the chance of becoming off task, and control their ability to learn on their own. Perceived competence refers to one’s ability to feel knowledgeable and proficient in areas that there are being asked to perform in (Garcia & Pintrich, 1995). For example, a student who has a test on a particular day needs to believe that they are able to perform well on this test. This belief (perception) is needed to make it possible for a student to perform without anxiety. In addition to a perceived competence in students, self-efficacy is also needed for students. Self-efficacy involves a student being able to effectively accomplish a task to their fullest potential (Bembenutty, 2007).
​The literature examines all three of these components in their relation to student’s self-regulation of learning and motivation. Strategies to obtain all components of self-regulation of learning are coordinated by motivational, behavioral, and cognitive regulations. These regulations examine specific characteristics of the student. Cognitive regulations ask how students voluntarily control their cognition in learning; behavioral regulations look at how one controls and regulates their learning tendencies; motivational regulations inquire about how a student regulate their own learning motivation (Yang, 2005). The literature of each regulation has several sub-topics. In motivational regulations topics are goal-orientation, achievement value, and self-efficacy. Behavioral topics consist of control of action, support and help from others (especially the teacher), and environmental enhancers for self-regulation. In addition, cognitive topics are cognitive strategies and academics skills.
​This literature review will examine the implications of motivational, cognitive, and behavioral regulations among students. This paper will look at the three factors that interact with student’s ability to learn and their subtopics. Learning and motivation is dependent on self-regulation, perceived competence, and self-efficacy. What are the implications of motivational, cognitive, and behavioral regulations on learning and motivation?

The University President

​In order to understand the university president, one must understand the fundamental ambiguities that consist of being the university president. There are four faces of the president. The first is the ambiguity of purpose. The second is the ambiguity of power. The third is the ambiguity of experience. The fourth is the ambiguity of success. What is the president’s purpose in the institution? How does the president use the power of the office? What is learned from being the president? As well as, what experiences are needed to be president? When is a president successful? And what determines their success? These things need to be understood to understand the role of the president.
​At the same time, the university president must understand the symbols they use throughout their time in office. The university president use of symbols creates the culture of the university by several symbols. The role of the president is symbolic and open to interpretation. Board members, faculty, staff, and students attach certain significance to the role of the president and they all have different interpretations of the president. The president must then understand the symbolic acts of the office to communicate effectively the vision of the institution. Symbols, then, define leadership and is defined by the organization and used by the president in a way that best communicates the policies and procedures of the institution.
​The president can use metaphorical symbols which are figures of speech of the organization, the vision, and the activities of the campus. By focusing on specific metaphors the president makes it easier to understand the direction of the university by saying that “everyone needs to pull their own weight.” The physical symbols are those objects that are used to define how the vision is made physical by buildings, structures, and facilities on campus. The president can also use communication symbols that give verbal and written communication that is consistent with the vision that helps individuals understand the vision. The president can use him or herself to personify certain traits that they would like to implement on the campus. Also, the president can change the structural educational process that would allow the campus community to see the rigid focus or flexible perspective to learning. If the president understands the symbols of the president, they can then overcome the ambiguities of the office.

Niggers No More

Niggers No More: A Critical Race Counternarrative on Black Male Student Achievement at Predominantly White Colleges and Universities

Shaun Harper, a tenured professor at the University of Pennsylvania, focuses on black male student achievement primarily at predominantly white institutions. In this article Niggers no more: A critical race counternarrative on Black male student achievement at predominantly white colleges and universities, Harper used a popularized methodological approach used by critical race theorists. Critical race theorists oppose dominant discourses in main stream society about the social and educational status of black men (Harper, 2009). Harper described that some of the topics that are often covered in the media about black men are high rates in drug activity, gang violence, the product of dysfunctional families or the result of them, and the common suspect for rapes of white women (2009). The American society has done an injustice to black males and black male students over the last century.

Within this article, Harper used the word “nigger” or “niggering” to elicit the emotions that have been historically associated with this word. Also, he used this word in the article to show how school systems in America have “niggered” the black male student population. The word nigger has multiple meanings but in America it suggests second or third rate citizenship for African Americans (Harper, 2009). The result of 40 years of the word being used has allowed for K-12 teachers and higher education professors to devalue the worth of the black male student population. Black male students in higher education may have been ‘niggered’ by being told that they are unlikely to accomplish much in life even though they are in college (Harper, 2009). It is suggested that higher education institutions have claimed policies and programs that show they care about the black males but the institutional and structural barriers to black male achievement demonstrate otherwise. Harper suggests that what higher education institutions have done constitutes a form of niggering (2009).

Harper employs a method of research in this article that looks at black male students who are achieving in academics and student leadership. He uses the voice of the black male students to counter the media misperception that all black men are the same and without the ability to achieve (Harper, 2009). The article examines three main questions: 1) Is there an overlooked population of black males who are engaged and academically performing, 2) if so, what are their realities in navigating the higher education system, and 3) were they able to resist the niggering forms on their campus (Harper, 2009). The critical race theory used in this approach to education research is storytelling or telling stories of people who are overlooked in research to counter the master narrative about them. Within the stories, Harper uses composite characters to represent the sample used who reject the assumptions held of them in regards to academic achievement and student leadership (2009). The participants of the study gave their input through a panel discussion at a conference they attended in 2008. The overall themes that were generated were: 1) there is an overlooked population who are student leaders that are academically thriving, 2) these students naviagate higher education by experience racism and success causing them to develop strategies to counter the hostile environments, and 3) they resist being niggered on campuses by being the positive role model on and off campus (Harper, 2009).

The implications of this study are vast and can be applied to any predominantly white college. However, it would be interesting to apply to a historically black college or university. If this study were to be replicated on a H.B.C.U. would it have the same effect? Can H.B.C.U’s claim that they have enough programs and policies for black males? Are their institutional and structural barriers to achievement for black males? Is the black consciousness really awoken in black males at predominantly black colleges? Here are just a few questions that could be posed if the study were to be replicated at an HBCU. 

Reference:  Harper, S. R. (2009). Niggers no more: A critical race counternarrative on Black male student achievement at predominantly white colleges and universities. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 22(6), 697-712.