A Higher Education

It's March. We've been in the spring semester for a while and we still have a while to go. Is your soul eager for some rest? Join our guests Michael Burns and Mike McCarthy from UMHB this month as they share their excitement for the upcoming ACSD conference. They describe how our three days together will be permeated with pictures and practices of rest drawn from scripture. It might just p...

Did you realize that how you onboard team members has a big impact on if they stay at your institution, or even in the field of Student Affairs at all? Our guest, Dr. Zach Mills of Baylor University, did the hard work on finding out the things that matter in terms of employee retention so that you didn't have to, and he's here to selflessly share the things he's learned with the rest o...

The hardest work of this January episode was naming it something more specific than "Kristy McGarvey on Everything". There is something here for you if you are or work with graduate students, if you are concerned about or excited for the future of Christian higher education, if you have or are considering uprooting yourself for a new job, if you are or support a woman in a leadership rol...

From 2020, this is episode two of the inaugural season of A Higher Education. "Dr. Brad Lau and Dr. Steve Beers discuss the praxis briefing they wrote with several colleagues on mental health on college campuses. Mental Health on the Campus: Defining Challenges and Opportunities is published in the Spring 2019 edition of ACSD's Growth Journal. We discuss the impetus for the praxis (and wh...

A Higher Education is pleased to re-release the episodes from the inaugural season back in 2020. Enjoy this first ever episode as you travel for the holidays or take some needed alone time on a neighborhood stroll. "In our debut episode, Andrea talks to Dr. Edee Schultze, Vice President for Student Life at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA. Edee talks about the way her leadership was chal...

If you wrote "a podcast to learn more about the foundational history of higher education" on your Christmas list, then call us Santa Claus. This topical episode will cover some fun facts about the history of our industry followed by some in-depth examples of why historical context matters to student development work. We'll discuss historical moments within the higher education system...

The work of Student Development can often mean programming leadership lessons for students while neglecting your own leadership development. In this episode, Neal talks about the concept of Leading Up and how student development folks can be working on their leadership skills in five specific ways. The episode ends with an extensive list of books for the curious listener as well as ways to get con...

"Your students are your best PR." Come for this and more sweet nuggets of wisdom from the current ACSD Diversity Chair, Yicaury Melo. She hails from Gordon College in the greater Boston area where she has worked for years on raising the multicultural program on campus from the ground up. This episode is rich with specific strategies and ideas that Yicaury has employed successfully on her...

We're back! Recorded at the ACSD conference in June 2023, Episode 7 will introduce you to Kristy Morgan and Steve Ivester. At the time of recording, Kristy served as the President of ACSD and Steve was the President Elect. If you have been looking for a passive way to learn more about the association, you've come to the right spot! Together, you'll hear them share the mission and visio...

In this world of Higher Ed, summer is notorious for transitions. Whether you are making a job change yourself or welcoming a new teammate in the coming months, you'll find something relatable in this episode with Lyndsey. Our guest has served nearly a year as the Assistant Director of Residence Life Programs at Taylor University. As a former colleague and close friend to both our hosts, this e...

Do you have imposter syndrome about your imposter syndrome? Alex Staup is the Director of Student Engagement at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, and he hits on this and more relatable points as he walks us through his professional and educational history. He has held a number of roles in Student Development all while at Lee, complimented by a completed Masters in Higher Education and PhD in...

Jose Brown is a Residence Director at Anderson University in Anderson, South Carolina, which happens to be the site of the 2023 ACSD conference. In this episode, Jose describes some of the work that goes into hosting the annual conference and what attendees can expect, but his episode is much more than that. We also explore his experience in Christian Higher Education as a person of color and hear...

Lisa Igram is currently the Interim Vice President and Dean of Student Wellness in the division of Student Development at Biola University in La Mirada, California. She is also in the midst of a PhD program of Divinity and Religious Studies at the University of Aberdeen. In this uplifting conversation, Lisa tells us about how her work is driven by her deep and broad-spanning passions, but als...

Katie Garrett is currently the Assistant Director of Programming at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In this episode, Katie tells us stories of her time spent in multiple roles at different types of institutions. She discusses how her passion for and education in spiritual formation paired with her rich experience in camp ministry and Christian higher education is benefitti...

What is A Higher Education podcast? And why re-launch it after some time off? Dr. Mark Muha, Vice President of Student Life and Dean of Students at Trinity International University, along with Kara Martin, Associate Director of Residence Life at George Fox University, introduce themselves as co-hosts and answer why a podcast through the ACSD could be helpful to student development professionals.