Race-Related Campus Activism: How Do Higher Education Diversity Professionals Respond?

• In Event: 58.042 - Racialized Experiences and Leadership for Change in Higher Education

Abstract

Higher education diversity professionals have played critical roles in responding to a new wave of race-related activism on college and university campuses across the United States. However, little is known about how campus diversity professionals describe their roles and relationships as they respond to race-related activism. Framed by Williams’s (2013) Strategic Diversity Compass model, we interviewed campus diversity professionals as part of this qualitative case study. Four preliminary themes emerged from our analysis: (a) personal connections to activism; (b) responses to activism; (c) being caught in the middle; and (d) influence of social media. These themes reflect the complexity of their roles and we argue that understanding their roles has implications for the success of social justice work on campuses.

Authors

• Kimberly Griffin, University of Maryland

• Jeni Hart, University of Missouri - Columbia

• Roger L Worthington, University of Maryland

• Jeffrey Yeung, University of Maryland - College Park