Hazing, a type of abusive behavior that can harm students and undermine university missions, has implications that extend beyond those individuals, groups, and communities directly involved. Our investigation drew on critical whiteness studies (CWS) to explore intersections of hazing and white supremacy. Campus hazing climate interviews (n = 345)…

Whiteness is the foundation of racism and racial violence within higher education institutions. It is deeply embedded in the ideologies and organizational structures of colleges and universities that guide practices, policies, and research. The purpose of this book is not to simply uncover these practices but, rather, to intentionally center the…

The 2010s saw a revival of reactionary politics on college campuses, which now appear to have paved the way for contemporary right-wing culture-war talking points regarding K-12 education. Revanchist attitudes around race, as well as gender and sexuality, can be linked to White Americans' affective attachments to ideas of historical entitlement,…

This paper documents how segregation between Black students and White students across U.S. colleges has evolved since the 1960s, explores potential channels through which changes occur, and studies segregation across majors within colleges. The main findings are: (1) Black-White dissimilarity fell sharply in the late 1960s and early 1970s and has…

This dissertation sought to interrogate the ways in which White, rural students from West Virginia conceptualized diversity before, during, and since their transition to a large PWI in their home state. Using Critical Whiteness Studies and intersectionality as driving theory, student participants and I engaged in deconstruction of privilege…

Affirmative action is framed as a way to end discrimination and promote equality. However, it has led to unequal treatment of students on the basis of race, gender, economic status and national origin. This paper recommends steps that policymakers can take to protect education and academic merit. It also provides specific policy guidelines for…

Three trends have characterized state policymaking for higher education in the 21st century: divestment, accountability, and race neutrality. These policy agendas are often justified as an attempt to optimize system efficiency and performance by making institutional actors (agents) responsive to the demands of state officials (principals). In this…

Longstanding disparities in four-year transfer rates for Black/African American and Latinx/Hispanic community college students, relative to their Asian and white peers, raise important equity questions about the vertical transfer function in the U.S. higher education system. Using data from one of the nation's largest and most racially and…

Research on attitudes within higher education toward undocumented students has overlooked the views of postdoctoral scholars (postdocs). With the number of postdocs in the United States on the rise, this highly trained group matters for future leadership inside and outside of higher education. Since previous research has shown that individuals of…

The twenty-eight item Sense of Online Community Scale was completed by 293 online students at a midsized southeastern United States university to ascertain community importance and activities associated with its formation and maintenance on the program and institutional level. A large majority of these students believed that a sense of community…

Comparatively few young white males from poorer backgrounds progress to university. This paper considers evidence gathered from a study that explores the educational ambitions of these young men from five areas of educational disadvantage in North West England, at two stages in their learner journeys. The first stage relates to school year 10…

Asian Americans are generally perceived to be disproportionately enrolled in four-year postsecondary education institutions despite evidence of Asian Americans being concentrated at both two-year and four-year postsecondary education institutions. This perception of Asian Americans has contributed to limited attention to Asian Americans'…

This study investigated quality faculty-student interactions, sense of belonging, self-efficacy for self-regulated learning, perceived responsibility for learning, academic achievement, and academic satisfaction. Participants (n = 898) included undergraduate students who identified as White, Black, and Latinx from a diverse university in the…

We examine how the racial wealth gap interacts with financial aid in American higher education to generate a disparate impact on college access and outcomes. Retirement savings and home equity are excluded from the formula used to estimate the amount a family can afford to pay. All else equal, omitting those assets mechanically increases the…

Neoliberalism tends to shift the goals of schooling from democratic to economic purposes. This article examines how school personnel and students in 2 majority-Latinx schools utilized neoliberalism when constructing diversity as a form of "property." Diversity was seen as preparation for postsecondary life and an experience that (White)…