Reimagining Inclusion: Building Multicultural Academic Communities to Affirm and Nourish Marginalized Students’ Experiences on Campus

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 11:25 am
  In Roundtable Session: Examining the Role of Support Programs in Student Postsecondary Success (Table 31)

Abstract

Grounded in CRT, this qualitative case study explores how one multicultural leadership program for first generation and racially minoritized undergraduates served as a critical counterspace, supporting and nourishing them as they move into and through a Predominantly White Institution. Findings reveal how programs like these help minoritized students overcome institutional and social barriers through microaffirmations that validate and honor their identities and experiences, fostering a community of support and care that improves academic outcomes and helps students persist to graduation. Such programs can disrupt structural inequities in higher education by creating spaces for complex discussions about racism and other forms of oppression, ultimately supporting students to lean into roles as leaders and activists on campus and beyond.

Authors

• Alexandra F. McGrath, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Deborah K. Palmer, University of Colorado - Boulder