Creating Campus Cultures

Creating Campus Cultures is the first book to explicitly focus on how campus cultures shape the experiences of racially diverse student populations.

Praise for Creating Interdisciplinary Campus Cultures "Klein's analysis shows convincingly that from research in the sciences to new graduate-level programs and departments, to new designs for general education, interdisciplinarity is now prevalent throughout American colleges and universities. . . . Klein documents trends, traces historical patterns and precedents, and provides practical advice. Going directly to the heart of our institutional realities, she focuses attention on some of the more challenging aspects of bringing together ambitious goals for interdisciplinary vitality with institutional, budgetary, and governance systems. A singular strength of this book, then, is the practical advice it provides about such nitty-gritty issues as program review, faculty development, tenure and promotion, hiring, and the political economy of interdisciplinarity. . . . We know that readers everywhere will find [this book] simultaneously richly illuminating and intensively useful." from the foreword by Carol Geary Schneider, president, Association of American Colleges and Universities "Klein reveals how universities can move beyond glib rhetoric about being interdisciplinary toward pervasive full interdisciplinarity. Institutions that heed her call for restructured intellectual environments are most likely to thrive in the new millennium." William H. Newell, professor, Interdisciplinary Studies, Miami University, and executive director, Association for Integrative Studies "In true interdisciplinary fashion, Julie Klein integrates a tremendous amount of material into this book to tell the story of interdisciplinarity across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. And she does so both from the theoretical perspective of 'understanding' interdisciplinarity and from the practical vantage of 'doing' interdisciplinarity. This book is a must-read for faculty and administrators thinking about how to maximize the opportunities and minimize the challenges of interdisciplinary programming on their campuses." Diana Rhoten, director, Knowledge Institutions Program, and director, Digital Media and Learning Project, Social Science Research Counsel

Many colleges and universities have not engaged in the critical self-examination of their campuses necessary for effectively serving racially diverse student populations. This timely edited collection provides insights into how campus cultures can and do shape the experiences and outcomes of their increasingly diverse college student populations. By cultivating values, beliefs, and assumptions that focus on including, validating, and creating equitable outcomes among diverse undergraduate students, an institution can foster their success.While attention to campus climate is critical for gauging the nature of an institution’s culture and how students are experiencing the campus environment, changes in climate alone will not lead to holistic and deep rooted institutional transformation. Moving beyond previous explorations of campus racial climates, Creating Campus Cultures addresses the considerable institutionally embedded obstacles practitioners face as they attempt to transform entrenched institutional cultures to meet the needs of diverse student bodies. A broad range of chapters include voices of students, new research, practical experiences, and application of frameworks that are conducive to success. This book will help student affairs and higher education administrators navigate this increasingly difficult terrain by providing practical advice on how to foster success among racial minority students and enact long-term, holistic change at any institution.

Drawing from a longitudinal mixed methods study, the authors provide new models and approaches to supporting low-income, racially minoritized, and first-generation college students. The book provides research-informed practical recommendations for administrators, faculty, and staff about how to create a campus-wide culture that supports at-promise students with illustrations of the concepts in practice and targeted reflection questions. The book offers a transformational approach to creating campus cultures and scaling changes to better serve all students. Unlike books that draw from solely theory or reflections on practice, this book draws from one of the largest studies of its kind that integrates theory and reflection on practice.

Offering a new approach to institutional practices, this book describes evidence-based strategies to create a campus culture conducive to truly supporting all students. We are at a critical crossroads in higher education, where large numbers of low-income, racially minoritized, and first-generation college students – referred to in this book as "at-promise students" – are attending college in greater numbers than ever, yet access has not translated to significantly improved retention and graduation rates. This book, therefore, proposes a realignment of existing initiatives to create campus-wide support through a new model of coordination. The ideas presented in this book are the culmination of one of the largest studies of comprehensive college support programs for at-promise students. Chapters include illustrations of the key concepts and promising practices of the Promoting At-promise Student Success (PASS) Project, as well as guiding questions that can be used to facilitate conversations on campus. In this helpful resource, the authors address how student supports are delivered in validating ways, rather than focusing solely on what supports are offered, as has typically been the way institutions address the issues that at-promise students face. This book is intended to provide guidance and support to educators who want to be a part of changing how higher education supports at-promise students toward increased equity.

Are cultural centers ethnic enclaves of segregation, or safe havens that provide minority students with social support that promotes persistence and retention?Though Black cultural centers boast a 40-year history, there is much misinformation about them and the ethnic counterparts to which they gave rise. Moreover, little is known about their historical roots, current status, and future prospects. The literature has largely ignored the various culture center models, and the role that such centers play in the experiences of college students. This book fills a significant void in the research on ethnic minority cultural centers, offers the historic background to their establishment and development, considers the circumstances that led to their creation, examines the roles they play on campus, explores their impact on retention and campus climate, and provides guidelines for their management in the light of current issues and future directions.In the first part of this volume, the contributors provide perspectives on culture centers from the point of view of various racial/ethnic identity groups, Latina/o, Asian, American Indian, and African American. Part II offers theoretical perspectives that frame the role of culture centers from the point of view of critical race theory, student development theory, and a social justice framework. Part III focuses specifically on administrative and practice-oriented themes, addressing such issues as the relative merits of full- and part-time staff, of race/ethnic specific as opposed to multicultural centers, relations with the outside community, and integration with academic and student affairs to support the mission of the institution. For administrators and student affairs educators who are unfamiliar with these facilities, and want to support an increasingly diverse student body, this book situates such centers within the overall strategy of improving campus climate, and makes the case for sustaining them. Where none as yet exist, this book offers a rationale and blueprint for creating such centers. For leaders of culture centers this book constitutes a valuable tool for assessing their viability, improving their performance, and ensuring their future relevance – all considerations of increased importance when budgets and resources are strained. This book also provides a foundation for researchers interested in further investigating the role of these centers in higher education.