5 Areas Where Higher Education Professionals of Color Should Take Up Space in the Movement for Social Equity

I’ve developed quite a network of higher education professionals from racial and ethnic diverse backgrounds. Inspired by our own experiences in higher education to make a difference in the lives of students that look like us, many of us gravitate towards roles at colleges and universities that target diverse students, such as diversity & inclusion, sexuality services, multicultural services, cultural centers, or college access programs.

I mean, who is else is going to do the work?

This peer model has its advantages, of course. The students feel seen and valued. The programs are relevant and timely. The staff are committed and resilient.

But, it has its challenges as well. Understaffed. Overworked. High attritions rates. And with paltry budgets for staff and programming the work is psychologically and emotionally taxing, leading to racial battle fatigue that often perpetuates stereotypes. The high concentration of minorities in minority-focused areas also perpetuates overall organizational cultures characterized by a lack of multicultural awareness and competence. I’ve discussed these matters in detail in this article.

Despite the challenges, most professionals of underrepresented backgrounds stay in the field, because we’re passionate about the mission. We don’t want to let the students down. It’s a part of “the struggle of our existence”.

Yet, this philosophy doesn’t quite cut it for others. Bills needs to be paid and other financial goals take precedence. People are pushed beyond their stress threshold. People burn out, and they learn to find other sources of job satisfaction. We funnel our passion for giving back to the community through volunteering or getting involved in an organization.

There’s a middle ground. Fighting for social equity in higher education doesn’t mean you have to stay in a box, nor does burn out mean you have to completely leave the industry. There are areas in higher education where increasing representation would help to create a more holistic environment for advancing social justice. I’ve talked to colleagues about the challenges that students have with diversity in several areas of academic culture.

For example, White academic advisors stereotyping students and not wanting to do the psychological work to reach students of color. The lack of Black men in certain academic fields. White people being selected as speakers for minority topics, where professionals of color in that discipline are plentiful (thus creating greater impact for the students). There are many other instances where professionals of color can make a major impact in the weight of social equity in higher education. Here are a few areas that professionals of color in higher education should consider to transition:  

Counseling

Building rapport is a huge component in establishing a meaningful therapeutic relationship. There’s something to be said about receiving therapy from a professional who looks like you. There’s certainly been a heightened awareness about seeking mental health professionals of color within recent years.

College students from diverse backgrounds are often dealing with intersectional identity issues due to not only the environment of college, but also their stage of development. It’s important for them to be seen by clinicians that can distinguish between these things and provide guidance not only from a position of empathy, but also the ability to resonate with the students’ experiences. The campus counseling center may be the only mental health resources that some students of color have access to, but unfortunately, students may not feel there is a professional available who understands them. Most of my colleagues in the mental health field pursue employment in the government or non-profit sectors. More therapy clinicians of color in higher education cultivates healthcare equity for students.

Academic Advising

Academic advisors are in many ways the gatekeepers to students’ academic success. They inform students on classes necessary to complete their degree, and they guide them on changes they may want to make to accomplish their career goals. Academic advisors also monitor student academic performance and are in the position to make judgements about the student’s aptitude for degree completion.

My experience with diverse students taught me that there is far more going on for students emotionally and psychologically than just their mental ability for completing classwork and showing up to class. Family issues, health concerns, and even psychological needs, such as self-esteem and belonging, may be inhibiting students’ ability to perform well in school. Yet, students do not disclose some of these personal issues with higher ed professionals they perceive do not care about them or understand where they are coming from. Cultural norms about family privacy and personal boundaries may also prevent students from sharing such information, even when asked.

This is why building rapport is so important. The right questions asked from a trusted professional about the student’s life and study habits will bring authentic difficulties to the service. Unfortunately, students have disclosed to me that their academic advisors do not ask these types of questions in a way that resonates with students. There is a lack of discussion within academic advising meetings that separates the student’s innate ability to perform academically and the cultural influences on their success. As a result, more academic advising professionals of color in higher education will foster educational equity for students.

Career Services

Students come to college to get better opportunities, and career services is the office that educates students about career options as well as prepares them on job search skills, such as resume writing and interview preparation. Yet, preparing for one’s career is easier said than done, especially for underrepresented students. There is bias implicit in career development, often times intersecting with socioeconomic status and culture.

Building one’s career requires knowledge of opportunities and the resources to cultivate the skills and network to achieve career goals.

However, what students consider as viable career options are in many ways shaped by where they come from (such as their cultural background and what their home environment exposes them to). Students from urban or rural, low-income, or ethnically diverse backgrounds (or any combination thereof) often are not adequately informed about career options, and their school environments do not have the appropriate resources to help them build professional networks or explore occupations.

Thus, students come to college either misinformed about careers of interest or have no idea where to start. These future leaders need more career education and the guidance to build self-awareness than what Eurocentric, self-guided career models might default to when working with students. More career advising professionals of color in higher education advances economic equity for students.

Faculty

Faculty are often the only personal connection students have in higher education. Consequently, faculty are very influential in relaying university policy and informing students of valuable resources and opportunities at the university. Faculty are therefore essential in making students feel welcome and building self-efficacy within students about their goals and getting acclimated to the college experience.

Unfortunately, students face microaggressions, and even discrimination, from their faculty who lack adequate training on cultural competence with students from diverse backgrounds. This can be very discouraging for students, and may even contribute to them either switching majors or dropping out of the university altogether. The likelihood that a student of color will be able to connect to a faculty member from their background can be bleak, whether at the university as a whole or within their major or, especially in certain science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. This is because recruiting faculty from racial and ethnically diverse backgrounds is an ongoing challenge in higher education.

Considering a career in academia can make a serious impact on not just the student experience, but the campus culture, since faculty also have a higher degree of power than student affairs staff. More faculty of color in higher education cultivates not only academic equity, but a sense of belonging for students.

University Administration

Leadership sets the tone for how an organization develops and operates. University administration – presidents, provosts, vice presidents, chancellors, deans, associate deans, assistant deans – are the uncontested leaders within higher education.  Some initiatives for cultural inclusion and equity don’t get off the ground, because there isn’t an administrator that proposes or supports a solution.

Some people do not consider policies and practices important if their leader is not making them mandatory, which is also the case in the dynamic between faculty and students. University administration also has the ability to incentivize administrative policies as well as set consequences when mandates are not followed.

As a result, the ability to establish protocol and policy within an administrator position has an even greater influence on the student experience than faculty. Leaders of color have been transformational to integrating diversity and inclusion into the organizational culture, thus cultivating a safer environment for all students, faculty, and staff. Subsequently, more higher education administrators of color fosters institutional equity not just for students, but the entire campus community.

Fostering greater representation within higher education would be a game changer for the movement. I’m not saying you shouldn’t pursue your passion. If you truly feel that serving in diversity departments within higher education is your calling, by all means do so. I also encourage you to consider that serving diverse students can manifest in multiple ways, and serving within a more generalized area on campus may even have a larger impact on the student experience versus being siloed into specific communities on campus.

For example, being a woman of color in career services has provided a critical voice to the economic equity conversation. I have been able to explain to colleagues their implicit biases about student advancement and how it is perpetuated by the lack of cultural awareness that exists within traditional approaches to career education and services.

My understanding of this comes from my own experiences coming from a low-income, diverse background. My ability to see the bigger picture when working with students heightens my ability to ask more in-depth questions and explain career concepts in more detail using metaphors and culturally appropriate examples. Students feel like I get them and what they want to accomplish. I’ve developed more culturally relevant programs that helps meet them where they are on the skills they need to develop to become more successful. I have been able to make a greater impact on students of color in my career services role than when I was able to as a college access counselor at three previous institutions.

Perhaps you’ve considered making a career shift to another area, but you’re not quite clear on how to break in? Maybe part of the reason you’re involved in a diversity area on campus is because it’s comfortable for you? We can sometimes be our own worse enemy. As a career development professional and blogger, I would be remiss to encourage you to shift careers, without guiding you on how to do so. Here are some ways you can start to shift into one of the higher education sectors mentioned in this article:

Leverage professional assets

Your professional assets include your educational degree or work experience. You can consider acquiring a new degree or focus on the knowledge or resources from a degree you already have. Most counselors and academic advisers have master’s degrees in counseling or social work. If these are areas you want to pursue, especially if you want to do therapy or mental health for students, then consider leveraging a degree in those areas.

Other higher education professionals have specialized degrees in college counseling or student affairs, but you do not need a degree in these areas to serve in an advising role. A master’s degree in your discipline with some industry experience will also make you a strong candidate for an academic advisor, career coach, or career advisor position.

If you’re interested in career services, then consider opportunities to acquire skills and knowledge in career development, such as taking a career counseling course or attending seminars about business development. If you’re already a student in one of those disciplines, then consider serving as a graduate intern or graduate assistant in the career services office or volunteering at a non-profit that provides employment services.

Professionals and students alike can also join professional organizations such as the National Career Development Association (NCDA), National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), or the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). If you’re interested in supporting students, but don’t want to go through the process to acquire the education or experience for an advising role, leverage your skills in relationship development and event planning into a role within the employer development aspect of career services.

Invest in your strengths

What are you really good at? I mean really, really good at? What’s your forte? Are you passionate about graphic design? Cooking? Interior Design? Community development? Investing in your strengths through professional development opportunities will put you on the radar of colleagues in the industry.

Taking courses, volunteering for campus initiatives or projects, and presenting at conferences are all great opportunities that showcase your strengths to others. The more you strengthen your skills and put yourself in a position to be recognized for those skills, then the more you will be considered an expert. This recognition may give you the credibility to be invited to teach a class, advise a certain student group on campus, or serve on a campus-wide committee. The accumulated experience may also open the door for promotion or recommendation for a leadership role.

Pursue leadership training

Not quite confident about your leadership skills? Then seek opportunities that will strengthen your ability to lead, especially a diverse group of people. Serve on the board of an organization. Volunteer for a committee on campus or become a chair of a professional development organization.

There are several leadership institutes out there for you to enroll, and be alert to any programs specific to the field you are committed to. You may also want to consider reaching out to a current leader that you admire and conduct an informational interview about how they advanced to leadership in their career. Taking a step further to request a mentor relationship, and proactively investing in the connection, will also put you even further ahead.

Network

I can’t say this enough – “It’s not what you know, but who you know”. People have to know what you’re interested in, so they can support your goals.

If someone believes you’re in a field of diversity because you’re invested in the work, then they will not know that you are open to branching out to another field. If they don’t know that you’re open, then they will not refer you to opportunities outside the scope or recommend you for a promotion.

Tell people about your desire to advance so they can refer you to the programs and opportunities that best suit your skills. They may also invite you into meetings related to your interests or keep you in mind when a certain department has a vacancy.

Diversity work is an important asset to the education environment or any corporate culture. But, it’s not the only place to make an impact for social equity. Greater representation in underserved areas can also expand the reach. These angles work in tandem with one another – surrounding the outside and working from the inside, so that both efforts meet one another in the middle to support more students that need it.

For example, some of my most fulfilling work has been when I as a person of color in an underrepresented area have been able to partner with a colleague from a diversity sector within higher education to develop programs or link students to valuable resources. Whether you’re currently in a diversity area and considering making a shift, or you are just starting out in higher education and trying to find your way to an area of focus, I hope this article inspires you to branch out, move up, and take up space for the movement. We (me and the students) will be waiting for you.