Democracy's College: Research and Leadership in Educational Equity, Justice and Excellence for All

This episode of Democracy's College explores how higher education leaders can sustain equity-centered work amid mounting political pressures. The conversation features Dr. Robert Brown and Dr. Sara Furr, two nationally recognized equity champions. Drawing from "social justice fatigue"—a term Furr defines as the physical, mental, and emotional toll of justice-oriented work without the hopelessness...

In this episode, Dr. OiYan Poon talks with Drs. Courtney Luedke and Erick Montenegro about why higher education needs a cultural shift in how it understands student success. Instead of locating problems within students, the conversation highlights how everyday routines, policies, and decision‑making structures often create hidden barriers that limit students' ability to reach their academic goals....

This Democracy's College episode explores the power, complexity, and impact of student leadership in Illinois community colleges, with insights from student leader Leonidas Hamza as well as from Deana Schenk, the senior director for student success at the Illinois Community College Board. Host Nina Owolabi guides a conversation that highlights how community colleges serve as vital, yet often overl...

Community colleges in micro-urban spaces (small cities with big-city dynamics) play a pivotal role in expanding access, strengthening workforce pathways, and advancing equity for Black learners. In this conversation, Dr. Terry Vaughan III highlights how these communities offer unique advantages, such as concentrated resources, reduced geographic barriers, and strong anchor institutions that can dr...

In this episode, Dr. Sheila Quirk-Bailey, the recently retired president of Illinois Central College, talks with host H.M. Kuneyl about her career journey from corporate education into community college leadership, emphasizing how her Illinois-based communication and business training, paired with a practitioner-focused doctorate from Maryland, shaped her student success-driven philosophy. Among o...

In this episode, OCCRL Associate Director Gianina Baker talks with Drs. Rick Rantz and Lauren Contreras about the book Developing Culturally Responsive Curriculum in Higher Education . The scholars describe the origins of the book, rooted in concerns about student retention, curriculum relevance, and the absence of higher education-specific tools for assessing cultural responsiveness. They highlig...

In this episode, Dr. Sadya Khan discusses with H.M. Kuneyl how data can drive equity, student success, and institutional effectiveness. She emphasizes the importance of selecting the right data for the right questions, building trust and collaboration around data use, and making data accessible and meaningful for faculty, staff, and students. The conversation highlights beginner-friendly ways to e...

In this episode, Dr. OiYan Poon—an author, speaker, and race and education scholar—talks with Harper College President Avis Proctor about how her institution is strategically organizing campus efforts to reduce the rates of D and F grades and course withdrawals, especially in gateway courses, by engaging in actionable institutional research and data.

In this episode, Dr. OiYan Poon talks with Dr. Lonetta Oliver about how colleges can improve advising and wraparound services to more effectively support all students in their postsecondary educational journeys. This special-edition Illinois SUCCESS podcast, and several others in the series, explores how campuses can leverage data and institutional research to improve holistic advising and other p...

In this special-edition Illinois SUCCESS episode, we explore how campuses can leverage data and institutional research to improve holistic advising and other programs to support students to and through college to complete a credential or degree. Dr. OiYan Poon talks with Dr. Lindsey Back about the On-Track data system at the University of Illinois Chicago, and how this information informs her team...

In this episode, Dr. OiYan Poon—an author, speaker, and race and education scholar—talks with Dr. James Minor about how campuses can leverage data and institutional research to improve holistic advising and other programs to support students to and through college so they can complete a credential or degree. Dr. Minor is the chancellor of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

In this episode, Dr. OiYan Poon—an author, speaker, and race and education scholar—talks with Dr. Jay Gatrell, the president of Eastern Illinois University, about how institutional leaders can organize campus efforts to reduce the rates of D and F grades, also known as DFW rates, as well as reduce the number of course withdrawals by engaging in actionable, institutional research and data. Dr. Poon...

In this special edition of Democracy's College, OCCRL Associate Director Gianina Baker talks with Valerie Lynch and Deana Schenk about the critical roles of benefits navigators and HOUSE liaisons, two positions designed to help students access basic-needs resources such as food, housing, health care, and financial support. Lynch is the senior managing director at the Illinois Board of Higher Educa...

In this episode, Dr. OiYan Poon—an author, speaker, and race and education scholar—talks with Dr. Nick Branson about the different frameworks for understanding institutional data as well as creative ways that campuses can use a wealth of data to improve support systems that help all students succeed. Dr. Branson is the assistant vice president for strategic advancement at the College of Lake Count...

In this episode, Dr. Gianina Baker, the associate director of the Office of Community College Research and Leadership, talks with Dr. Kimberly A. Griffin about the Institutional Model for Faculty Diversity and its role in advancing STEM equity. The conversation with Dr. Griffin, who is the dean of the College of Education at the University of Maryland, explores the model's connection to the NSF AS...

In this episode, Hannah  Kuneyl, a senior research assistant at OCCRL, talks with Dr. LaDrina Wilson about her experiences and insights working at bistate community colleges in Illinois and Iowa as both an administrator and practitioner.

In this episode, OCCRL Director Lorenzo Baber talks with Lisa Castillo Richmond, the outgoing executive director of the Partnership for College Completion, about key findings she has observed in developmental education in Illinois. Drs. Castillo Richmond and Baber also cover where the state is currently at with developmental education reform as well as the importance of placement and the building...

In this episode, OCCRL senior research assistant H.M. Kuneyl, who coordinates OCCRL's yearly Illinois Community College Leadership Institute, talks with Terry Wilkerson, the president of Rend Lake College who partook in the institute's Journey to the President panel in 2023. Kuneyl and Wilkerson discuss the challenges and benefits of working in the field of postsecondary education at a rural commu...

In this episode, OCCRL research assistant H.M. Kuneyl, who coordinates the yearly OCCRL Illinois Community College Leadership Institute (ICCLI), talks with two individuals who were a part of the institute's first cohort. They are Andy Hynds, dean of math, science and business and the executive dean of academics at Richland Community College; and Brianna McClay, associate dean of student services a...

In this episode, OCCRL senior research associate Stacy Bennett talks with Joe Saucedo and Lee Roe, from the Partnership for College Completion in Chicago, to discuss developmental education reform in Illinois.

In this episode, OCCRL senior research assistant Nina Owolabi talks to several guests about the use of open educational resources, also known as OER, as an equity initiative in Illinois community colleges. In addition, OCCRL research assistant Aidana Sirgebayeva relates the findings of the OER research project that has been taking place at OCCRL for the last several years. The shows guests are Dr....

This Democracy's College podcast episode is the fourth one in a series featuring contributors to the book Critiques for Transformation: Reimagining Colleges and Communities for Social Justice , edited by Drs. Lorenzo Baber and Heather McCambly. In this episode, Dr. McCambly talks to Drs. Erin Doran and Sergio Gonzalez about how their chapters for the book originated. The scholars also discuss the...

In this episode, OCCRL affiliate member Heather McCambly talks with Dr. Rosemary Perez and Dr. Aireale J. Rodgers about the chapters they contributed to in the volume Critiques for Transformation: Reimagining Colleges and Communities for Social Justice , a book that was co-edited by Dr. McCambly and Dr. Lorenzo Baber.

In this episode, OCCRL Director Lorenzo Baber talks with Isaac Gottesman about the chapter that Dr. Gottesman contributed to the volume titled Critiques for Transformation: Reimagining Colleges and Communities for Social Justice , which was co-edited by Dr. Baber and Dr. Heather McCambly.

In this episode, Drs. Lorenzo Baber and Heather McCambly provide context on the origin and content of their book proposal and the eventually published volume,  Critiques for Transformation: Reimagining Colleges and Communities for Social Justice , which they and their colleagues developed during the trying years of the pandemic. Baber and McCambly also discuss their overarching goals for the book,...