Varying Viewpoints

In this episode, the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institution (CMSI) has a conversation with their new partner Fordham Center for Cybersecurity’s -Cybersecurity Education Diversity Initiative (CEDI). In this introductory discussion, we spoke with CEDI Co-Chairs, Thaier Hayajneh and Amelia Estwick. Thaier and Amelia provide an overview of CEDI’s mission, accomplishments, and goals. They addr...

In this episode, Naziema Jappie, a visiting scholar at the Proctor Institute and the Director of the Center of Higher Education at the University of Cape Town, talks with Marybeth Gasman, the Executive Director of Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute and Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions, about the complexity of social justice, diversity, and inclusion in South African higher education s...

In this episode, Leah P. Hollis, a visiting scholar of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice, invited Tara Blackshear, Assistant Professor at Towson University, Equity Scholar, and Educational Consultant of Health, Physical Activity, and Education, to join her for a conversation. The discussion explores physical, social, and economic structures impeding health and...

In this episode, Anna-Kaye, one of our Visiting Scholars, invited Tierney Bates, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Special Projects and Executive Director at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, to join us. Anna-Kaye and Tierney discuss career mapping for professionals that work in higher education and why colleges are having trouble retaining employees. In the conversation, Tierney challe...

In this episode, we invited Elliot Felix, founder and CEO of brightspot strategy, to join us. Higher education has changed dramatically over the last decade. Specifically when it comes to defining student success, from an academic standpoint, a social stance, and a career stance. Building on Elliot Felix’s new book, How to Get the Most out of College, this podcast explores the concept of higher ed...

In this episode, we continue our discussion with the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions’ (CMSI) new partner, Student Veterans of America (SVA). In this discussion, Marybeth Gasman, CMSI and Proctor Institute Executive Director and Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education, spoke with Jared Lyon, SVA President and CEO. During their conversation, Jared provides intimate insight...

In this episode, we invited Chris Span, historian, Chief of Staff, and Associate Chancellor for Administration and PreK-12 Initiatives at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, to join us. Chris emphasizes the power of using our history as a strategic tool to dismantle racism by educating our family members, our students, friends, and colleagues of past events. Additionally, Chris delves int...

In this episode, Naomi Simmons-Thorne and Latrice Johnson, two of our 2021 John Smartt Summer Scholars, invited Jonathan Wesley, Senior Director of Diversity and Inclusion in Academics at Southern New Hampshire University. Jonathan is an interdisciplinary practitioner, artist, academic, and activist with huge dreams of leading inclusive and safe communities for LGBTQIA+ students. He shares his exp...

In this episode, Deja Joi Brewster, Program Coordinator at Student Veterans of America (SVA), invited Siobhan Norris, Associate Vice Chancellor of Military Affairs at Fayetteville State University (FSU), veteran, mentor, and SVA advocate, to talk about the significance of student veteran support on college campuses. The interview highlights FSU, an Historically Black University based in North Caro...

In this episode, we invited Tina Fletcher and Trina Fletcher to join in a conversation about Black women in the academy. Tina is a Ph. D. Candidate in Education Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. Trina is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Education at Florida International University. The twins, who grew up in a small town in Arkansas, share the lessons learned on their academic journey...

In this episode, we are celebrating a new partnership between the Proctor Institute and the Student Veterans of America (SVA). We spoke with Program Coordinator at SVA, Deja Joi Brewster, about SVA’s mission, her experience working with student veterans, and the resources that are available to all student veterans, specifically those at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). Joi highlights the many...

In this episode, Ariadna Manzo and Alex Reyes, two of our 2021 John Smartt Summer Scholars, invited Monte Randall, president of The College of the Muscogee Nation (CMN) and one of our MSI Aspiring Leaders, to discuss the graduation and retention efforts that CMN has engaged in to support their Native American/Indigenous student population. The goal of this episode is for higher education professio...

In this episode, Bianca Neal, Visiting Scholar at the Proctor Institute, hosted an interview with Laura Castañeda, an award-winning professor of professional practice in the USC Annenberg School of Journalism. Before joining USC Annenberg, she taught at Temple University and worked as a staff writer, editor and columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, and The Associated...

In this episode, Bianca Neal, Visiting Scholar at the Proctor Institute, hosted an interview with Gloria Martinez, Professor in the Department of Sociology at Texas State University. Having mentored over 30 undergraduate and graduate students, she is also the Director for Center for Diversity and Gender Studies and the inaugural Director of Latina/o Studies minor at the institution. In an effort t...

In this episode, we invited Thomas Hudson, President of Jackson State University (JSU), to join us. As only the second alumnus of JSU to become president, President Hudson stepped into the role in early 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was ramping up. President Hudson speaks to Proctor Institute Executive Director Marybeth Gasman about his journey toward becoming president of Jackson State, wha...

In this episode, Visiting Scholar Tanishia Williams spoke with Aaron Griffen and Angel Jones, two critical race theory (CRT) scholars. Throughout the episode, Tanishia, Aaron, and Angel, with the help of founding CRT scholars, provide a definition of CRT, an explanation of the role CRT plays in education, and a recourse to debunk myths about CRT.

In this episode, Hunter Hornsby, one of our research interns, invited Gavin Steiger, Director of Disability Services at Texas State University, to join us. They unpack what it means to have a disability and how to ensure proper accommodations at higher education institutions. Gavin shares his personal experience with disability and how this has influenced his work on accessibility at colleges and...

In this episode, Leah Hollis, Visiting Scholar at the Proctor Institute, hosted an interview with Joseph Angel de Soto, STEM Professor at Diné College, a tribal college in Tsaile, Arizona. Joseph shared that he decided to teach in the Southwest at a tribal college because he saw it as an opportunity to work with individuals with a similar culture to the culture he grew up around. He also discusses...

In this episode, Bianca Neal, Visiting Scholar at the Proctor Institute, hosted an interview with Aida Isela Ramos, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. In an effort to offer guidance for Latinas navigating academia and the professoriate, Aida talks about her academic experiences growing up in harsh educational environments as well as the challenges, the strugg...

In this episode, Leah Hollis, one of our fabulous visiting scholars and Associate Professor at Morgan State University, invited Joseph Drew, a professor at the University of Maryland Global Campus and a former professor at the University of District of Columbia, to join us. They unpack what it means to be a Jewish scholar at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) and the general relatio...

In this episode, we invited Frederick Shegog, founder of The Message, LLC and notable keynote speaker, to join us. During the interview, Frederick talks about how his challenging, yet eye-opening experiences inspired him to become the leader he is today. He shares how important it is to empower communities and encourage self-awareness in students who often experience self-doubt. Frederick speaks a...

In this episode, we invited Sarah Todd, social work professor and the director of Carleton University’s School of Social Work to join us and interview with our Communications Intern, Sharaya Morrison. Sarah’s background includes research in many areas related to social work and community practice. She touched on how broad social work in communities can be and further discusses what whiteness and p...

In this episode, we invited Michael Hicks, assistant professor of education at Centenary College of Louisiana, to join us. Michael talks to us about his role as an educator of future educators and how he teaches leadership techniques. He created the “Teach, Speak, Create” model in an effort to inspire himself and others to be effective leaders, especially through the lenses of diversity, inclusion...

In this episode, we invited Karen Gross, a consultant to non-profit schools, organizations, and governments, to join us. Karen’s work focuses on strategies for vulnerable student success across the K-20 pipeline, with a focus on the impact of trauma on educational outcomes. A frequent author, speaker, and commentator on issues in education, she is the author of the newly released, award-winning bo...

In this episode, we invited Yolanda Wiggins, an assistant professor of sociology at San Jose State University, to join us. Yolanda highlights her research on educational inequality and explores the role that families play in students' feelings of inclusion at higher education institutions. Additionally, Yolanda digs deeper into how diversity initiatives are often surface-level interventions that d...