This article introduces a framework for transforming Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) through Heterotopic Affinity Spaces (HAS). Our model suggests HAS can shift traditional power dynamics by enhancing learner agency. Drawing on studies of affinity spaces and heterotopias, we present these spaces as free from the restrictions of formal…

The Re-membering Blackness Digital Archive at the University of Scranton shares the university's racial story as part of a campus-wide initiative devoted to reconciliation and collective memory. By bringing together archival records on Black history in a thematic digital collection, the project presents a corrective lens through which the…

Promoted by initiatives such as Shared Futures by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) or by the American Council on Education's Internationalization Collaborative, global learning has become an important feature of undergraduate higher education as colleges and universities have sought to enhance and align their…

This chapter highlights the role of institutional coaches in supporting community college transformational reform efforts, such as guided pathways. The history of coaching support for student success is explored along with a description of a national network of state intermediaries supporting the work of coaches focused on campus-level change.…

The Mathematical Sciences Department at Shenandoah University focused on increasing the participation of women in the mathematics program by fostering a welcoming learning community and promoting double majors. Data from the past decade is presented. During this time, the program saw an increase in women undergraduate mathematics majors from 11%…

Research suggests that the cultural homogeneity of Christian college campuses presents challenges for people of color to navigate. White cultural norms influence attitudes about race. The way people at an institution talk about race reflects the institution's campus racial climate. The purpose of this study was to explore how members of a…

Leading with care and compassion, critically reflecting on our teaching practices, and collaboration has always been central to our pedagogical practices. Participating in the #ONHumanLearn project, an initiative designed to humanize learning in higher education, we began to notice a growing divide between our engaged and disengaged students. As…

This paper offers a small slice of 'autosociobiography': autobiographical reflections which situate these impressions in a wider social context (Ernaux, 2022, Jaquet, 2023, Twellman & Lammers, 2023). These particular autosociobiographical reflections are about my experiences of university, and how they have offered both positive and sometimes…

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered unprecedented disruptions in higher education, forcing swift changes to core operations, particularly within divisions of student affairs. A review of the literature reveals COVID-19 presented many unique challenges for students and student affairs professionals, including disruptions in traditional…

This paper reflects on the first five years of the Changing University Cultures (CHUCL) collective, which conducted equality and diversity projects in four English universities between 2015 and 2020. We explore how CHUCL has been used in the service of institutional polishing (Ahmed, S. 2012. "On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in…

In this article, we explore how three campuses implemented professional learning communities (PLCs) in order to create institutional change in support of culture change (toward ecological validation) to support at-promise student success. The study explores the process of learning within the PLCs, examines facilitators of learning ecological…

Organizational change is a complex and critical issue in higher education today. Changes experienced across institutional systems have both short-term and long-term impact, making this phenomenon ripe for educational leadership research. Many universities and colleges have applied Kotter's (1995) eight-step change model prescriptively to implement…

This article provides a conceptual framework of the dimensions of a toxic culture in higher education and the impact it has on the meaning of work. Seven dimensions of a toxic culture in higher education are presented as follows: toxic leadership; bullying and mobbing; colleagues as enablers; reinforced toxic social norms; purposeful, chaotic…

A case study at a large, public research university was conducted to understand how post-striving environments, defined by those universities that achieved very high research activity classification, influence campus structures and practices related to faculty and organizational approaches to pedagogy, teaching, and learning. Participants…

Recent world events and the ever-changing nature of higher education mean that colleges and universities exist in a state of near-constant flux. This qualitative study explored the experiences of seven college seniors who persisted to graduation after beginning their college careers when their university was admitting lower-division students for…