"We have at our disposal one of the greatest vehicles for...community-building known to humankind--the one called education." --from the foreword by Parker Palmer "Connecting authentically and deeply with others across all dimensions of life enriches the human spirit. The sense of community resulting from such connections is a hallmark of a supportive campus environment, which we know is an important factor in enhancing student learning. The contributions to this book offer a vision we can work toward and provide instructive examples from different types of institutions to point the way." --George D. Kuh, chancellor's professor and director, National Survey of Student Engagement, Indiana University "Ernie Boyer was a giant in higher education. This book, a resource guide, focuses on one of his great loves--campus community. The book examines his contributions and offers a compelling agenda for action." --Arthur Levine, president, Teachers College, Columbia University "This well-written and timely book draws on the lessons learned from five very different institutions as they attempted to address a major challenge to higher education-building effective campus communities. Practitioners will find this to be an invaluable resource and guide as they attempt to bring Ernie Boyer's vision to life on their campuses. A great tribute to one of America's leading educators!" --Charles C. Schroeder, professor of higher education, University of Missouri-Columbia "There is no topic more important in higher education today than creating campus community. McDonald and his associates have indeed lived up to Ernest Boyer's legacy by presenting us with a remarkable set of campus models for us to admire. . . and emulate." --Yolanda T. Moses, president, American Association for Higher Education "This book comes at an auspicious time of educational transformation. Like the Boyer Center, this book's fundamental priority in meeting today's challenging new realities is the discovery and creation of new forms of community." --Glen R. Bucher, executive director, the Boyer Center

Creating Community on College Campuses addresses the most critical and difficult issues facing higher education in the 1990s: improving the quality of teaching and learning, raising academic standards, protecting freedom of expression, and simultaneously enhancing community of the whole and community of the parts. This book offers an understanding of community as a complex concept, one that incorporates the values of a democratic society and encourages learning and participation by all citizens of the campus, and discusses topics such as race and ethnicity, the climate for women, harassment and free speech, alcohol, crime, Greek life, and interaction among faculty and students. The authors conclude with concrete recommendations to support the implementation of pluralistic learning communities on our nation's campuses.

Many colleges and universities have not engaged in the critical self-examination of their campuses necessary for effectively serving racially diverse student populations. This timely edited collection provides insights into how campus cultures can and do shape the experiences and outcomes of their increasingly diverse college student populations. By cultivating values, beliefs, and assumptions that focus on including, validating, and creating equitable outcomes among diverse undergraduate students, an institution can foster their success.While attention to campus climate is critical for gauging the nature of an institution’s culture and how students are experiencing the campus environment, changes in climate alone will not lead to holistic and deep rooted institutional transformation. Moving beyond previous explorations of campus racial climates, Creating Campus Cultures addresses the considerable institutionally embedded obstacles practitioners face as they attempt to transform entrenched institutional cultures to meet the needs of diverse student bodies. A broad range of chapters include voices of students, new research, practical experiences, and application of frameworks that are conducive to success. This book will help student affairs and higher education administrators navigate this increasingly difficult terrain by providing practical advice on how to foster success among racial minority students and enact long-term, holistic change at any institution.

This book serves as a sourcebook to enhance and evaluate safety programs, generate new solutions and interventions, comply with new legislation, and present practical steps and guidelines to establish best practices. It pays particular attention to the factors that may give rise to crime, considering high-risk drinking and examining the intersection between hate crimes and violence. Devoting chapters to discrimination in all its forms, whether against international students, students of color, or on the basis of ethnicity or sexual orientation, it reviews the range of issues relating to harassment and violence against women and engages with hazing and the presence of guns on campus. The authors pay attention to the different circumstances that may apply in specific institutional types, such as community colleges and minority-serving institutions. They offer perspectives from administrators, campus security, student affairs personnel, faculty and policy makers.The purpose is to provide readers with the context and tools to devise a comprehensive safety plan. For administrators operating with few formal support systems, advice is given on how to co-opt individuals and resources from around the campus and the local community to assist in maintaining a safe and welcoming campus.Click here for press release.

This book presents and examines key issues not only on addressing changing student demographics and needs but also on aligning institutional and student expectations, connecting student-oriented services systemically, organizing and fostering student services for learning, and creating and delivering services for students to achieve success on campus. While the essential supportive role student services plays in student retention and success is generally understood, this book provides several constructive approaches and key indicators that service providers can use to challenge their campuses for better results in achieving student success. While this book does not define what student success is for all institutions or suggest that one size fits all institutions, it does emphasize that student learning and achieving student success on campus is everyone’s business. The chapter contributors share their wisdom on and experience in creating a student-centered culture and emphasize student services as the primary approach for putting students first in the campus community. Written for student service providers, academic departments, and others responsible for the support, direction, and coordination of services to students—vice presidents, deans, directors, and department chairs—readers will learn how to encourage a variety of desired outcomes, including student persistence, satisfaction, learning, and personal development. Also included is a systems perspective that will help readers evaluate and align services for students with the goals of both the students and the institution.

Colleges and universities increasingly recruit international students yet may lack the systems to foster these students' academic success and identity as valued members of the campus community. Sharing case studies of students and examples of innovative initiatives, this book explores strategies and key recommendations for universities to re-conceptualize their programs to better welcome and support international students. Emphasizing the relational aspect of academic and campus life, the authors provide a framework that supports students from initial contact through graduation. Carefully researched and addressing issues of language, engagement, and culture, Creating a Culturally Inclusive Campus offers universities innovative strategies for helping all students fulfull their academic goals while also contributing meaningfully to their school’s global mission.