Nov/Dec 2023 —Promoting Educational Equity, Delphi Case Studies...and More!

Promoting Equity in Higher Education

November/December 2023

"Consequential Research for Equity in Higher Education"

Guest Editor Royel M. Johnson, Associate Professor

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to the latest edition of the Pullias Center for Higher Education’s newsletter. My colleagues and I deeply appreciate your engagement with our work, and we are excited to share updates and insights that underscore the significance of our commitment to advance equity in higher education.

This commitment, however, is under constant threat. The increasing attacks on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, combined with the troubling trend of book censorship and efforts to distort historical and scientific truths, directly undermine the goals we aim to achieve. These challenges do not deter us; rather, they strengthen our resolve to conduct consequential research that bears insights into and informs policy, practice, and discourse in service of a more just future.

In this edition, you will find detailed discussions about the vital work my colleagues and I are undertaking to advance equity across various domains and contexts. For instance, check out my work with colleagues at North Carolina Central University, aiming to increase the number of underrepresented students pursuing education doctorates through the Research Institute for Scholars of Equity. Additionally, we encourage you to explore our new website. It offers a more comprehensive look at our research and initiatives, including the 45th annual Pullias Lecture. Scheduled for March 28th, 2024, the lecture will feature my dear friends and colleagues Drs. Eddie Cole, Liliana Garces, and myself. Save the date and stay tuned for more information. You don’t want to miss it.

Royel M. Johnson, PhD

Associate Professor & Chair

Director, National Assessment of Collegiate Campus Climates

The Educational Consequences of Early Contact with the Criminal Punishment System

With funding from AERA and NSF, research examines the long-term negative consequences of juvenile arrest on college enrollment

By Royel M. Johnson

Earlier this year, news circulated about an incident in Lansing, Michigan, where a 12-year-old African American boy was wrongfully arrested for simply taking out the trash. The young boy, whose name I have omitted for privacy reasons, was misidentified by local law enforcement as resembling a suspect in a vehicle theft. Although he was eventually released after being handcuffed, and the police department later issued an apology following public outrage, the young boy had already been traumatized.

For some, it is easy to dismiss this unfortunate incident as a simple case of mistaken identity, and thus an outlier. However, decades of social science research tell us that young Black boys experience hyper-surveillance and criminalization at rates that exceed those of their peers, placing them at a heightened risk of contact with the criminal punishment system, whether through arrest or incarceration. And such contact is not without consequences.

Julie Posselt Receives $1.2M Grant to Expand EGE Consortium

Funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation enables Posselt and team to build tools and grow its network to support systemic change in STEM graduate education.

Pullias Center’s Dr. Julie Posselt and her team at the Equity in Graduate Education Consortium (EGE Consortium) have received a $1.2 million grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

This grant will provide continuation funding for the EGE Consortium into 2026, and will provide targeted support for equity-focused changes in 10 universities that are seed grantees from the Sloan Center for Systemic Change (SCSC).

SPOTLIGHT

2023 Delphi Award-Winning

Case Studies Released

Loyola Marymount University and University of Arizona detail their programs designed to support contingent faculty in new case studies.

New publications that detail the 2023 Delphi Award-winning programs created by Loyola Marymount University (LMU) and University of Arizona (UA) are now available for download from the Pullias Center’s website.

These case studies highlight the innovative and important policies, programs and initiatives instituted by these universities in support of their contingent faculty. The new publications were written in collaboration between the Pullias Center and the featured campuses.

Kezar Adds a New 'FACE' to the Delphi Project

The Pullias Center recently named KC Culver as the Associate Director of the Delphi Project on the Changing Faculty and Student Success. Culver, currently an Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration at the University of Alabama, also serves as the Co-PI on the Faculty, Academic Careers and Environments (FACE) Project, which is part of the Delphi Project.

Here, KC shares her thoughts on ‘VITAL’ faculty, the impact the Delphi Project has on institutions and faculty, and why the FACE Project is a dream come true for her.

Read the Interview

Pullias Center Now Hiring: Administrative Project Specialist

USC's Pullias Center for Higher Education is seeking a full time staff specialist to support the Equity in Graduate Education Consortium (EGE) and the Inclusive Graduate Education Network (IGEN), two interdisciplinary research-practice partnerships designed to advance equity and inclusion in graduate education.

The Administrative Project Specialist role begins this December and is a 12-month grant-funded position.

Learn More and Apply for this Position

Attend the Change Leadership Toolkit Workshop at the AAC&U National Conference, Jan. 17

Join Adrianna Kezar, Elizabeth Holcombe and Susan Elrod, the authors and facilitators of the Change Leadership Toolkit (CLT), for an immersive, hands-on learning experience in our AAC&U Pre-Conference Workshop:

Leading Systemic Change Using the Change Leadership Toolkit

This workshop will introduce participants to a step-by-step guidebook grounded in research and full of practical, hands-on tools for starting, re-invigorating, and sustaining systemic campus change projects.

The workshop will be held on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

The Pullias Center's New Website: Discover and Explore our Latest Research

Our newly-designed website is the place to find information on the latest equity-focused research topics, including Equity and Leadership, Delphi Project, Racial Equity in Higher Education, College Access and Success, and Equity in Graduate Education. Download any of our more than 175 reports and learn more about our ongoing Pullias Center projects.

Visit the Pullias Center Website

NEW PUBLICATIONS

"Creating a Campus-wide Culture of Student Success" a new book from co-authors Adrianna Kezar, Joseph Kitchen, Ronald Hallett and Rosemary Perez describes evidence-based strategies to create a campus culture conducive to supporting all students.

Adrianna Kezar, Natsumi Ueda and Elizabeth Holcombe co-authored Chapter 1 of the new book "Inclusive Leadership: Equity and Belonging in Our Communities," part of the Building Leadership Bridges series.

MORE NEWS

Royel Johnson and Dr. Shaun Harper of USC's Race & Equity Center were recently named as named Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Visionaries by the Los Angeles Times.
Royel Johnson, along with Dr. Felecia Commodore, hosts the sixth and final episode of the ASHE Presidential Podcast (season 3), "Where Do We Go From Here," now available for listening.
Royel Johnson has been named a 2024 Diamond Honoree by American College Personnel Association. This is a national honor that recognizes an individual's sustained contributions to student affairs and higher education.
Adrianna Kezar was quoted in an article in The Hechinger Report on the working conditions of adjunct faculty in Canada and the United States.
Julie Posselt and Dean Pedro Noguera reflect on the military academy admissions processes. The op-ed "U.S. military academies set the bar in defending diversity commitment" featured in the Baltimore Sun.
The PASS project produced an "Ecological Validation Model of Student Success" video for people exploring new approaches to supporting college success.

THE PULLIAS CENTER FOR

HIGHER EDUCATION

Promoting Equity in Higher Education

pullias.usc.edu

The World's Leading Research Center on Student Access and Success in Higher Education