Varying Viewpoints

In this episode of Varying Viewpoints, Leslie Ekpe sits down with 3 ELEVATE fellows from this year’s cohort to engage in dialogue about their experiences during the ELEVATE program, in which early-career MSI faculty discussed the challenges, opportunities, and resources involved in navigating their tenure-track journeys.  Listen as they discuss the opportunities the program offers fellows and thei...

In this episode of Varying Viewpoints, we sit down with Kira Matthews—known as “Kira the Bold”—to talk about what it really takes to turn ideas into opportunities. Kira is a UK-based coach and speaker who has built her work around helping people move past self-doubt to learn how to pitch themselves with clarity and confidence. Whether that’s pitching for brand partnerships or building thriving bus...

Historically Black Colleges and Universities have long been essential to producing Black scholars and leaders yet they continue to face an uneven playing field when it comes to recruiting and keeping faculty. Today, HBCUs often hire professors trained at large research universities, while their own graduates are less likely to land those same kinds of positions. This gap raises real questions abou...

The mental health system is still falling short for many people. Despite years of diversity efforts, too many communities of color continue to be underserved, misunderstood, and overlooked. Outdated assumptions about what "normal" or "objective" care looks like have gone unchallenged for too long and the gap between what institutions promise and what people actually experience has never been clear...

The contemporary workplace in 2026 is defined by disruption, recalibration, and the lasting aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hybrid and remote work models, evolving conversations about inclusion, rapid technological advancement, and growing organizational distrust have fundamentally reshaped how we lead, live, and work. While moments of progress have emerged, recent trends reveal setbacks, pe...

In this episode, we speak with Musu Davis, author of Black and Smart (Rutgers University Press), to discuss strategies for supporting Black women’s success in college. Drawing from her book and professional experience, Davis explores how families, students, and university leaders can work together to recognize talent, foster belonging, and dismantle barriers that often hinder achievement in higher...

In this episode, we speak with Erjia Yan (Drexel University), Robert Palmer (Howard University), and Chaoqun Ni (University of Wisconsin–Madison) to discuss their upcoming research brief on the challenges HBCUs face in recruiting and retaining faculty. They highlight the 8% decline of faculty at HBCUs between 2013 and 2022, despite the national numbers rising. The podcast explores the reasons why...

African American males face significant challenges in pursuing quality education, often encountering systemic barriers that result in disparities in academic achievement, economic opportunities, and social outcomes. From high suspension and dropout rates to underrepresentation in gifted programs, the traditional education system frequently overlooks their potential. In this episode, we speak with...

In this episode, our JSSS 2025 Scholar, Victoria Parker, spoke with Anne Edwards, Director of Purdue University’s Black Cultural Center, about navigating the higher education landscape while dealing with uncertainty. Anne shares her journey from the hospitality industry to academia. Describes how she managed personal and professional challenges during her transition. She also provides guidance for...

In conversation with a first-generation Latinx scholar, this episode centers on how identity, culture, and care shape mentorship and research, and how this pushes back against academic norms not built with us in mind. In this episode, Lupita Romo, JSSS 2025 Scholar, and Sergio González, Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the University of Pittsburgh, reflect on what it means to bring one’s...

In this episode, Nathaly Santos, JSSS 2025 Scholar, and Stephanie Aguilar-Smith, Assistant Professor at the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education, unpack the recent legal challenge to the Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) designation in Tennessee and explore its broader implications. What does this lawsuit mean for the future of HSIs, other MSIs, and MSI-focused research? They discuss the st...

Although the population of Latinx student-athletes is growing in the NCAA, they face unique challenges when navigating higher education structures, which until now have been overlooked in research. In this episode, Saul López, JSSS 2025 Scholar, and Guillermo Ortega, 2025 Elevate Fellow at the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions, discuss Latinx student-athlete experiences in higher ed...

In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast series, we explore the growing crisis of healthcare access in rural America with Tashuna Albritton, Associate Medical Professor at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Medicine in the Department of Community Health and Social Medicine. From hospital closures and provider shortages to transportation barriers and the digital divide, rural...

In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast series, we invited Sifu Karl Romain, a Certified Master Coach, World Martial Arts Champion, Hall of Fame Member, and Best Selling Author to talk with us. Sifu Karl shares lessons he learned in his journey, from overcoming adversity and experiencing many drastic life changes to coming out on top and dedicating himself to coaching others through thei...

In this episode of Varying Viewpoints, we explore the complex landscape of parental involvement in education, focusing on families from diverse backgrounds. Schools have become focal points for some of the most contentious debates in the United States, centering on civil rights and curriculum content. In classrooms nationwide, educators battle with presenting narratives to students that address co...

The influence of HBCU homecomings stretches far and wide as many PWIs have taken heed in replicating similar experiences for their Black students and alumni. In our final episode highlighting HBCU homecomings, Brandon Kitchin speaks to the influence HBCU homecomings have on Black alumni homecoming experiences at PWIs. Kitchen, an alumnus of Texas Christian University (TCU), talked about his experi...

In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast series, we invited Alvin Schexnider, Managing Principal at Schexnider & Associates, LLC, to discuss his book Confessions of a Black Academic. He reflects on his experiences growing up in the segregated South, navigating academia and advocating for greater support for Black faculty and students. Alvin describes Confessions of a Black Academic as a d...

“So maybe things we haven’t processed, that we haven’t written up that are, perhaps, universal in some way that anyone who reads the book can maybe start to feel courageous enough to say “maybe let me look at my own life.’’ In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast series, we sit down with the Vice President for Strategic Affairs and Diversity, and Professor of Education at Virginia Tech,...

In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast series, we invited Chef Camerron Dangerfield, an alumnus of Alabama A&M University, for a conversation with Leslie Ekpe, Proctor Institute Visiting Scholar. They discuss the importance of supporting Black-owned businesses within the homecoming experience. Camerron shares how these businesses enriched his student experience and laid the foundation f...

"The HBCU homecoming experience is unmatched - every year seems to be something that we've never seen before in some of the best ways ever." Homecomings are an important part of the HBCU experience as they contribute to the university's culture. Accordingly, alumni voices play a significant role in the longevity of these traditions. In this episode, we invited Frederick Engram, Assistant Professor...

Booked and Busy is a limited podcast series sponsored by The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice. This series explores the dynamic world of library archives; and dives into the incredible work the HBCU Library Alliance is doing. In this episode of Booked and Busy, we chat with Shaneé Yvette Willis, the program manager at HBCU Library Alliance, and Darshai Hollie, a...

In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast series, we invited Paul Bigby, a Ph. D. student at Virginia Tech, to serve as our podcast facilitator for our guests, including Marla Franco, Vice President for Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives at the University of Arizona (UA) and co-founder of the STEM in HSI working group, and Sarah L. Rodriguez, an Associate Professor of Engineeri...

In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast series one of our John Smartt Summer Scholars, Genoveva Vega, hosted an episode with Romeo Garcia, an Assistant Professor of Writing and Rhetoric Studies at the University of Utah. They discuss Garcia’s experiences as a Latino scholar in the fields of studies critical theory, cultural studies, Latino/a and Latin American Studies, and decolonial stu...

In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast series, one of our John Smartt Summer Scholars, Meiyah Hill, hosted an episode with KaJéza Hawkins, an alumni of Wilberforce University and current multimedia journalist at WDTN in Dayton, Ohio. They discuss the myth that students who study at HBCUs are not adequately equipped for professional environments, drawing on Hawkins’ own undergraduate exp...

In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast series, one of our John Smartt Summer Scholars, JaMareous Thompson hosted an episode with Timmy Bridgeman, an alumnus of Tougaloo College and current PhD student at the University of Maryland – Graduate School. They discuss the experiences of queer black students at HBCUs, and how these experiences influenced views on themselves. The goal of this p...