The “Ugly Selfie”: Leadership, Social Media, and Identity

• In Event: The Academic, Version 2.0: The Scholar in the Era of Social Media

Abstract

Julie White is a scholar-practitioner and a 2013 Ph.D. graduate from University of Rochester. She currently serves as Vice President of Student Engagement and Learning Support at Onondaga Community College. A passionate community college advocate, she has found social media to be a source of support, information, and inspiration as a scholar, practitioner, and leader. She has been a blogger for a nationally-renowned blog of the Chronicle of Higher Education and coordinated social media efforts for AERA's Division J and for ASHE Graduate Students.

Throughout her graduate work, White used social media to comment on and connect with others interested in financial aid policy, community colleges, and access for low-income students. Having recently transitioned from a midlevel administrative position to a leadership role responsible for policy-making at the institutional level, she has re-imagined her use of social media. White will discuss the complexities of managing multiple identities not only as scholar/practitioner/leader, but also personal and professional identities, as well as the role of social media in disrupting dominant norms of leadership.

Author

• Julie Ann White, Onondaga Community College