Two years ago, I was asked to lead a professional development initiative. This was a shift from my previous dean’s work in student affairs and campus equity development for more than thirty years. The opportunity to think about supporting students through a different lens, however, has been both revealing and encouraging.
Professional development initiatives that support employees are essential, particularly as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and consider how best to reopen campuses. Pivoting to online learning and teleworking while preparing for a new normal has highlighted this need. Perhaps, more than ever before, we are challenged to build the capacity to meet the diverse needs of our students and one another.
Before launching the project, I met with students and student affairs administrators. What I learned from those conversations and extensive work in creating a two-year professional development curriculum consisting of onboarding, over thirty workshops, and mentoring early-career administrators, has helped me to appreciate the changing landscape. According to a 2016 American Council on Education analysis of student protest demands across more than 75 colleges, a little over 70 percent listed employee training as a requisite for making campuses more inclusive.
It should not take another crisis or protest to hear this message. We have the capacity to impact a long-standing narrative. Here are six keys for enhancing campus professional development efforts that I’ve learned along the way.
Promote employee well-being and belonging. Students are the reason why we are employed. Our energies are devoted to their success. At the same time, employees perform best when they are physically and psychologically healthy and safe. Creating a sense of belonging is also important. Sometimes it is as simple as appreciating contributions and providing opportunities for learning and growth. Feeling appreciated and valued, as I learned from many workshop participants, goes a long way in fostering well-being and belonging. Ensuring that campus climates are identity affirming and inclusive begins here.
Center inclusion and equity values. Inclusion and equity have to be a core value in professional development initiatives—whether relating to student support or removing barriers that obstruct employee well-being and belonging. In the wake of calls for racial justice after the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others, colleges and universities have made solidarity statements while committing to dismantle structural racism.
Indeed, we can be part of the solution, considering the resources at our disposal. This includes professional development. It makes sense to include anti-racism work in a professional development curriculum, along with implicit bias, supporting first-generation students, understanding the needs of students with disabilities, xenophobia toward international students, gender-inclusive language, and other content relating to marginalized communities. Not surprisingly, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are integral to sustaining professional development and training opportunities.
