Campus-wide Initiative Research Articles

Re-membering Blackness: Digital Archives, Collective Memory, and a University’s Black History

abstract: 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 university community transformed its understanding of the historical Black experience on campus and considered how this history reverberates in the present. The initiative contributes to a growing collection of institutional research projects on African American history and the legacies of slavery and racism in higher education. This article considers the metaphor of archives as memory within critical archival literature, and it examines the relationship between archives and collective memory in the context of the University of Scranton’s initiative to recover Black memory.

Carelessness in higher education: How the neoliberal university shapes the experiences of food insecure student‐parents

AbstractThis qualitative case study explores how neoliberalism affects how food insecure student‐parents experience higher education. Drawing on interviews with administrators, student activists, and student‐parents at one U.S. research university, this article argues that neoliberalism's emphasis on revenue generation and a shift toward individualism has significant consequences for the most marginalized students, creating an environment in which the university provides few resources to support them. We suggest that campuses should take steps to dismantle the ethic of carelessness, a lack of attention to students' care responsibilities, that has pervaded higher education.Practical Takeaways Universities increasingly rely on philanthropy to support marginalized students, but the reach of these philanthropic efforts is limited. In some cases, outside groups put stipulations on the receipt of funds, which shapes university programs. Although food insecurity has received increasing attention at research universities, student‐parents are often neglected in campuswide initiatives, leaving many to seek out supports on their own.

Fear of COVID-19, anxiety, and social support among college students

Objective The present study prospectively examined the association between fear of COVID-19 and anxiety and whether social support moderated this association among college students. Participants 1,539 students from 11 universities in the United States completed two online surveys, one prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and one during the pandemic. Methods Hierarchical linear regressions assessed the impact of COVID-19 fears and social support on anxiety, after accounting for pre-pandemic anxiety and demographics. Results Results supported that adding fear of COVID-19 to the regression model resulted in a significant increase in variance explained over demographics and pre-pandemic anxiety. Social support did not moderate the association between fear of COVID-19 and anxiety. Conclusion These data underscore the mental health impact of COVID-19 on students and the urgency with which campus-wide initiatives are needed to support students during this unprecedented time.

Professor Emeritus : A “Neglected” Mentor on University Campuses

Professor Emeritus is an honourary title recognising distinguished academic service. It is conferred to selected faculty members of a university upon their retirement. This exploration of the role of professor emeritus on campuses aims to stimulate debate about how universities could use their knowledge and skills as mentors for students, faculty, and campus wide initiatives.

Kids in the stacks: Summer camp at an academic library

It’s summer, and there are middle school students running around the university library. Why?St. Ambrose University (SAU) Library held summer camps for 6th- through 8th-grade students in 2018 and 2019. The first was Digital Film Camp, and the second was National History Day Boot Camp. If you work in higher education, chances are good that you’ve heard about the campus demographic cliff and been charged with doing your part to address this enrollment challenge. In alignment with a campus-wide initiative to bolster pre-college summer camps for potential students, the library hosted summer camps for middle school students as part of this community outreach and engagement strategy. The goal of these camps was to offer enriching experiences that create positive impressions of the campus and library.

Constructing a campus-wide infrastructure for virtual reality

The tools, techniques, and physical infrastructure to conduct VR explorations can be expensive and require specialized facilities and training, creating obstacles for faculty and students to explore potential applications. A gap exists for a trusted environment to develop and support best practices. This study documents lessons learned from the transformation of existing library spaces into VR content creation and exploration spaces, as part of an integrated campus-wide initiative. Results argue for the central role libraries can play in the VR lifecycle. The study presents recommendations for adapting to the rapidly-developing VR marketplace, suggests methodologies for standardizing hardware deployment, training, and application support, and recommends a support structure for academic VR support.

Let’s teach peer support skills to all college students: Here’s how and why

The mental health of students at U.S. colleges and universities is rapidly deteriorating, and our counseling infrastructure struggles to meet rising demand. Given this reality, colleges must supplement reactive counseling services with preventive, campus-wide initiatives targeting root causes of distress, including loneliness and lack of social support. One promising innovation would be to provide basic training on listening and helping skills to all students so they can take turns reciprocally supporting each other. Self-disclosure and providing support both have strong mental health benefits. This would also increase social connection, which is likely to improve academics and retention. This paper reviews the benefits and limitations of teaching peer support skills to a large volume of students, which may enable colleges to deliver the social and emotional aspects of education that are critical to health and academics, yet often sorely missing.

We Solve It! Immersing the Quality Enhancement Plan in a Traditional and Online Baccalaureate Nursing Program.

Problem-solving and critical thinking are essential in nursing; therefore, nurse educators must equip students with these skills. Through a campus-wide initiative to foster problem-solving skills (Quality Enhancement Plan), five school of nursing faculty implemented new pedagogical approaches in face-to-face and online courses. This article discusses the problem-based approaches in nursing education implemented at a state university and their effects on student learning.

Interviews with Library Directors Suggest That Political Capital is Linked to Reputation

A Review of:
 O'Bryan, C. R. (2018). The influence of political capital on academic library leadership. Library Leadership & Management, 34(4). Retrieved from https://journals.tdl.org/llm/index.php/llm/article/view/7292
 Abstract
 Objective – To understand how library directors use political capital to overcome challenges and reach goals in their libraries. The author defines political capital as social power that is amassed through reputation and alliance building. This social power can be used to influence decisions and change at an organizational level.
 Design – Narrative interview.
 Setting – A large state university system in the Northeastern United States of America. The system includes a network of 64 independent campuses serving different communities with a total population of 460,000 undergraduate and 420,000 graduate students.
 Subjects – 12 library directors from within a single state university system.
 Methods – The author conducted in-depth narrative interviews with participants focusing on critical incidents throughout their careers and recent events. The author used restorying, reorganizing the data into chronological order before coding, and thematic analysis, using a software program to code the data and then revisit all the data with finalized codes to make any adjustments.
 Main Results – Several themes emerged in the interview data including interactions with administration, methods for building political capital, applying and using political capital, and building reputation. Within the interactions with administration theme, the author observed a strong connection in the hierarchy of the institution. Directors expected a high level of engagement and support from their direct reports and felt that providing this type of work to University administration would provide a return on investment for the library in terms of budget and support for new efforts or HR challenges. The theme of administrative turnover emerged as a possible barrier to establishing this relationship. In terms of building political capital, most participants did not set out to do this purposefully but instead sought to develop a reputation as a "team player" willing to participate in campus-wide initiatives and who would return positive outcomes. Participants expressed that it was difficult to know how much political capital they had acquired until they attempted to use it towards a goal. Eight of the participants provided narratives that included applying and using political capital, with two reporting that their political capital diminished after they had applied it towards a goal. Other participants suggested that applying political capital increased their store when it was spent toward accomplishing higher-profile goals. The importance of communication was clear in the building reputation theme, several participants indicated that their communication skills helped establish a reputation for competence and credibility in interactions both up and down the chain of command. Communication was a key factor in developing relationships across the institution, particularly with high-level administrators, and developing relationships was another area of importance for participants.
 Two of the participants indicated that they had and used political capital in specific areas and for smaller, day-to-day changes. Eight participants used their political capital for bigger initiatives, such as budget, human resources, and library space.
 Conclusion – While a few of the directors explicitly linked their activities to political capital and felt that applying their political capital increased their standing with stakeholders, most participants did not generally link the development of political capital to individual events. Instead, they suggested that generally establishing reputation and trust through excellent communication and relationship building would help them achieve success toward their goals.

Promoting age-friendliness: One college’s “town and gown” approach to fostering community-based and campus-wide initiatives for inclusiveness

ABSTRACTRhode Island College has spearheaded state-wide age-friendly initiatives while simultaneously fostering three principles of Age-Friendly Universities on its campus. The principles consist of dialogue with advocacy organizations for older adults, enhanced student understanding of the impact of an aging society that includes its benefits, and promotion of gerontological research in higher education. The challenges encountered in grafting age-friendliness onto both “town” (the community) and “gown” (the campus) have been limited resources, small-scale endeavors, barriers to dissemination of information, and difficulties in mobilizing older adults to share governance. The enlistment of students addresses these challenges by the unpaid work they provide in exchange for course credit; their deployment as navigators for older adults to better utilize social media and as producers of age-friendly educational content; cultivation of their collaboration with community agencies to assist older adults via informal, temporary, flexible arrangements; and participation in intergenerational learning experiences that can bolster volunteering.

Understanding in-library use data lifecycle within Greek and Spanish higher education ecosystems

PurposeAs learning analytics, an emergent field, nowadays is seen as a way to break barriers to intra-institutional collaboration that will ultimately lead to educational deep transformational change, HE administrators and library and information science (LIS) researchers argue on the purpose of connecting in-library user activity data to campus-wide initiatives, their relevance and potential contribution to library strategic alignment with broader institutional goals. In this realm and framed within a PhD research, this paper aims to provide an overview of preliminary findings relevant to the exploration of the potential of Spanish and Greek academic libraries to becoming involved in learning analytics initiativesDesign/methodology/approachSpanish and Greek public university library director large scale mini-survey and LIS undergraduate curricula desk research.FindingsAnalysis of public university library director mini-survey bring to light a series of negative correlations between different LRRC types, in-library use data collection and sharing practices and library-based learning analytics conversations, while LIS undergraduate curricula review identified a limited integration of learning analytics and assessment critical skills.Originality/valueIt is the first Greek and Spanish university library-specific study aiming to contribute to the dialogue on whether, how and when the wealth of in-library use-generated knowledge could be capitalized within future learning analytics initiatives.

Reasonable adjustments for everyone: Exploring a paradigm change for nurse educators.

The number of students with learning difficulties enrolled in nursing programs has increased. Under the current educational paradigm, nurse educators grant requests for reasonable adjustments from students with diverse learning needs in an attempt to promote equity and inclusivity in nursing programs. This system has fundamental flaws which reduce its effectiveness and perpetuates the differences between students with learning difficulties and their peers. A new educational paradigm based on Universal Design principles is proposed. Comparisons are made between Universal Design classroom teaching and management strategies and current evidence-based pedagogy. The first steps toward adopting a new paradigm are discussed and examples offered. Reasonable adjustments which support the diverse learning needs of all students are feasible and practical. This paradigm change can be implemented by individual nurse educators or as a campus-wide initiative.

One size does not fit all: Maintaining relevancy in the modern makerspace movement

As academic libraries have reimagined their facilities to meet the needs of 21st-century learning, makerspaces have been championed as a means to support contemporary learning, innovation, and collaboration on campus. Makerspaces in libraries are considered particularly fruitful for enabling cross-disciplinary collaboration, a hallmark of the library tradition.1 Thus library makerspaces often attempt to serve all campus constituents, even catering to campus-wide initiatives to improve student performance outcomes and bolster academic notoriety.2

Equity-Minded Faculty Development: An Intersectional Identity-Conscious Community of Practice Model for Faculty Learning

Equity-minded institutional transformation requires robust faculty learning. Research has shown that the single most important factor in student success is faculty interaction. Positive, supportive, and empowering faculty interaction is particularly important to the success of female students, poor and working class students, and students of color, but most faculty are not prepared to offer the kind of support that has been shown to be most effective for marginalized students. If institutions are serious about equity and about transformation, then they are obligated to provide professional development that will support the learning necessary for faculty to fulfill these important roles and to support faculty financially or by buying their time to participate in it. An effective way to do this is to align such professional development with the urgent needs of the campus and their related campus-wide initiatives. This article describes a community of practice model of identity-conscious professional development that engages faculty in a scholarly approach to the science of learning and evidence-based teaching and curriculum development while at the same time insistently and consistently incorporating critical reflection on and exploration of how systems of power and oppression impact learning. We believe this faculty engagement is key to transforming our institution into a more equitable and inclusive learning environment for students and faculty alike.

Exploring Readiness, Motivation, and Capacity for Implementing an iPad Campus Initiative: A Rural Community College Case Study

ABSTRACTThis intrinsic case study explored organizational readiness to implement a campus-wide technology initiative. Specifically, this research examined a rural community college’s implementation of an “iPad campus” initiative in which all students, faculty, and staff were required to adopt iPad technology. We apply a heuristic for organizational readiness, R = MC2, as a framework to understand motivation, general organizational capacity, and innovation-specific capacities. The findings of our case study identified four key themes that provide insight into the challenges faced in the implementation of a campus-wide iPad initiative. The findings included (1) a top-down approach to implementation, (2) inconsistent communication of vision and expectations, (3) lack of aligned support, and (4) technology infrastructure challenges. Community colleges face numerous hurdles in implementing new policies, procedures, and practices. These challenges may be intensified when implementing complex technological innovations in resource-limited rural institutional settings.

Global learning is shared learning: Interdisciplinary intercultural competence at a comprehensive regional university

This article summarizes a year-long, campus-wide initiative entitled Interdisciplinary Teaching and Assessment of Intercultural Competence (ITAIC).The project emphasized professional development of faculty who prepared, piloted, and assessed 18 online ITAIC modules. Four workshops, focused on reviewing extant scholarship, applying best practices, sharing ITAIC modules, and conducting post-project analysis and reflection, guided the process. The ITAIC project included the process of identifying collectively shared ITAIC principles and replicable best practices, culminating in a set of descriptive categories, i.e. a list of twelve “ITAIC dimensions”. The eighteen ITAIC modules were developed across disciplines, and each module was piloted in at least two courses. The modules were peer-reviewed, revised, archived (http://dga.kennesaw.edu/sig/itaic.php), and introduced in 23 academic departments. Altogether, approx. 100 faculty members from seven colleges and 1100 undergraduate students in 44 classes were reached during the 2014–2015 funding period.Project impact was assessed using a variety of data sources, including module reports submitted by participating faculty developers and adopters, external reviews conducted by two interculturalists at mid-year and year-end points of the project, and focus group interviews with 47 undergraduate students.

An interview with Rachel Mulvihill and colleagues at the university of Central Florida about the foundations of excellence transfer initiative

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to ask librarian Rachel Mulvihill (Head of Teaching and Engagement) and colleagues at University of Central Florida libraries about the Foundations of Excellence Transfer Initiative, an extensive, university-wide self-study program examining their transfer student needs for success and retention. University librarians participated in Foundational Dimensions groups in the first year of the program and with action groups in the second year.Design/methodology/approachThis is an interview.FindingsParticipation in campus-wide initiatives to reach transfer students improved the libraries’ image in the university system, strengthened inter-department connections and supported the success of transfer students. Developing personal connections with transfer students and understanding your school’s transfer population needs and dialogues with feeder school can help libraries better support their student populations.Originality/valueThe integration of library staff into a system-wide transfer-student assessment program is rare, if not unique.

Building a Great Entrepreneurial University

On April 4, 2017, the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship brought together entrepreneurial leaders from campus, the community, and other states to discuss Building a Great Entrepreneurial University. After reflecting on the University of Colorado Boulder’s (“CU”) progress in entrepreneurship over the past decade, participants considered what future opportunities could be spearheaded by the recently launched campus-wide Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative. The participants were united on the essential importance of developing an entrepreneurial mindset among students, faculty, and staff. Amidst the world’s rising complexity and uncertainty, CU must prepare all students - from those majoring in the humanities to the sciences - for a future where students must adapt to repeated changes to their jobs and careers. Notably, to thrive in today’s world of accelerated technological change, students, faculty, and staff need to develop a set of core competencies, including grit, resilience, adaptability, collaboration, creativity, and a willingness to take initiative (as well as learn from trial and error problem solving). The roundtable focused on how CU can enable students to develop their innate entrepreneurial capacity. To do so, Zach Shulman of Cornell University and Troy D’Ambrosio of the University of Utah explained, CU needs to provide forums for exploration, iteration, and failure. This report provides a strategic framework for fostering such forums.

College academic identities situated in interlocking contextual blocks

ABSTRACTThrough an examination of 13 first-generation college students’ views, this paper aims to provide one possible lens to viewing the complex social and academic landscapes that impact on students’ academic identity construction. Academic and social experiences within and beyond the safety net of a mentoring program are explored. The paper concludes with recommendations for campus-wide initiatives for the support of the focal students.

Mutual Mentoring for Early-Career and Underrepresented Faculty: Model, Research, and Practice

In the beginning, “Mutual Mentoring” was little more than an idea, a hopeful vision of the future in which a new model of mentoring could serve as a medium to better support early-career and underrepresented faculty. Over time, Mutual Mentoring evolved from an innovative idea to an ambitious pilot program to a fully operational, campus-wide initiative. This article describes the conceptualization, design, implementation, and evaluation of a Mutual Mentoring initiative from 2006 to 2014. Findings indicate that faculty members who participated in this initiative were more likely to regard mentoring as a career-enhancing activity as well as to develop mutually beneficial mentoring relationships than were their non-participating peers.