But I’m NOT Racist: Tools for Well-Meaning Whites

Kathy Obear, Ed.D.

President of the Center for Transformation and Change and Co-Founder of the Social Justice Training Institute, Dr. Kathy Obear is a recognized and motivated leader who is passionately committed to helping organizations create equitable, inclusive environments where everyone feels valued and respected. Boosted by Kathy’s skillful training, employees are challenged continuously to deepen their capacity to meet the needs of the increasingly diverse populations that they serve.

Given this recent national and international context, it is becoming more critical that white faculty, staff, and administrators consistently demonstrate the capacity to engage other whites, identify racist practices and services, and effectively partner with/follow the leadership of colleagues of color.  This creates inclusive campus environments that advance the personal and academic success of students of color and students who identify as biracial and multiracial.

“So often, equity work falls on those who are most targeted by oppression, and those from the dominant identities may not recognize or acknowledge their roles in perpetuating the problem. We must challenge ourselves and other whites to develop the capacity and courage to create greater racial justice; yet, many of us haven’t done our self-work to effectively lead change efforts. In this highly interactive, reflective session, participants will identify behaviors and attitudes of whites that maintain the racist status quo on campuses, explore strategies to dismantle internalized dominance, and identify ways to effectively partner with people of color to dismantle racism on campus. They will receive access to Kathy’s recent book, But I’m NOT Racist: Tools for Well-Meaning Whites as well as additional resources to facilitate change on their campuses.

Becoming a Pathways College:  Are you Student Ready?

Jana Schwartz, Dean of Pathways/Students Success, Director of Title III
Aaron Prestwich, Dean of Student Affairs, Westminster Campus
Carla Stein, Dean of Student Affairs, Boulder County Campus
Front Range Community College

Community Colleges across the nation support over 10 million undergraduate students every year. Initially designed to serve the purpose of providing access to an expanding population of students, community colleges have developed into complex organizations that often provide an overwhelming number of choices and offerings for students.  Too often, students find themselves lost in the complexity of the organization and receiving too little guidance and support to navigate the college successfully.  Community colleges across the region are engaged in a process of restructuring their environments with a focus to rethinking the ways in which they reorganize student academic programs of study, support structures, and student affairs.

Facing student success measures that remained largely stagnant and underwhelming, Front Range Community College (FRCC) has been engaged in a 4-year process to engage around student success. In the process, we have committed to the national Guided Pathways work as described in Redesigning America’s Community Colleges (Bailey, Jaggars, & Jenkins, 2015. The definition we used to define Guided Pathways is the following “an integrated, institution-wide approach to student success based on intentionally designed, clear, coherent and structured educational experiences, informed by available evidence, that guide each student effectively and efficiently from her/his point of entry through to attainment of high-quality postsecondary credentials and careers with value in the labor market.”

In this preconference session, we will use FRCC as a case study for exploring the national Guided Pathways movement.  We will discuss both the process and strategies we used to build the case for change and sustain that change through the challenges we experienced.  As defined by the American Association of Community Colleges, Guided Pathways work begins with thorough planning, continues through consistent implementation, and depends on ongoing evaluation. The goals are to improve rates of Pathways college completion, transfer, and attainment of jobs with value in the labor market — and to achieve equity in those outcomes.

We will discuss our experiences rolling out particular aspects of the Guided Pathways work—a redesigned Advising model and a required New Student Orientation.  Participants will also have a chance to explore what questions they have for their own institutions and how they might consider changes that could have a profound impact on their students’ experiences.

Region IV-W Mid-Level Institute

The NASPA Mid-Level Institute which takes place in Wichita, KS from October 22nd to 23rd  and provides an intensive professional development experience that broadens participants’ perspectives on higher education issues, renews commitment to the profession and explores creative leadership strategies. The application to participate in MLI is due no later than September 22nd, 2018 for consideration. The registration cost is $285 which includes registration materials and meals during the Institute. Registration for all institute participants begins at 10:00 a.m. on October 22nd. Participants will be notified of selection on or around September 24th, 2018.

APPLY HERE

Mid-Level Professionals Institute Faculty Biographies

Dr. Sara Mata is the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship Program Coordinator at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Mata received a Bachelor’s in Sociology with an emphasis in Juvenile Corrections and Treatment, a Master’s in Community Counseling, a Master’s in Sociology, and a Doctorate in Social Foundations from Oklahoma State University.

At the University of Oklahoma, Dr. Mata promotes interdisciplinary research for graduate students while also strengthening pathways for students from underrepresented populations to graduate education. Dedicated to being engaged on campus, Dr. Mata serves on the Environmental Concerns Committee, is a founding member of the Latinx Coalition for faculty and staff, serves as an advisor to Theta Nu Xi a multicultural sorority, LASH-Latinx Association for Science and Health and co-adviser to the recently approved chapter of SACNAS-Society for Advancement of Chicano/Hispanic and Native Americans in Science. Sara also serves as a mentor promoting undergraduate research to McNair and OK-LSAMP-Oklahoma Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Scholars and is a mentor to two NUFP-NASPA Undergraduate Fellows Program. In addition, Dr. Mata is adjunct faculty for the Department of Sociology at OU and OCCC-Oklahoma City Community College and is a faculty affiliate for OU Women’s and Gender Studies.

Dr. Mata is active in serving both professional and community organizations. Dr. Mata has been actively involved with NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education for over 10 years in both national and regional positions. Currently Sara serves on the NASPA Foundation Board of Directors. Serving the community, Sara serves as a board member for the Tribal Community Indian Academy (TICA), a board member for Pawnee/Osage CASA-Court Appointed Special Advocate as well as serves on the State of Oklahoma CASA board.  Dr. Mata’s greatest passion is working with and empowering students to achieving their full potential; essential to giving back and investing in future generations.

Derek Jackson is the director of housing and dining services at K-State. He oversees all aspects of the department, including operation of the residence halls, dining centers, facilities maintenance division and more. Derek began his housing career as a hall director while completing his undergraduate and graduate degrees. He then served as area coordinator at the University of Georgia from 1993 to 1997. Derek came to K-State in 1997 after accepting the position of Assistant Director for Residence Life, which he held until 2005 when he was promoted to Associate Director for Administrative Services and Residence Life. In 2011, he assumed the role of director.

Dr. Brown is a Professor/Program Director for the Student Affairs in Higher Education (SAHE Program) at Missouri State University (MSU). Before transitioning to the Professorate, Dr. Brown was a Student Affairs Practitioner who gained over several decades progressively mores generalist responsibility in Student Affairs Administration at liberal arts, comprehensive, and research universities. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas, Master’s Degree in Counselor Education from Emporia State University in Kansas, Master’s Degree in Student Affairs from Miami University in Oxford Ohio, and Doctors Degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Indiana University-Bloomington. Dr. Brown is the 2019 and 2005 coeditor of the books “Unleashing Diversity on College Campuses and the author of 1997 monogram “Helping African American students get ready and graduate from college, and the 1994 book “Debunking the Myth: Stories about African American College Students. Currently, Dr. Brown’s research and teaching interests include Faculty background impact on teaching in Master’s Degree Preparation Programs, and student success opportunities and challenges for heterogeneous African American Undergraduates at PWIs.

Application Timeline

● 7/9 - 9/22 - MLI Application Open
● 9/22 - 9/24 - Review and notify accepted participants
● 9/24 - 10/1 - Applicants complete conference registration

MLI Schedule