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2019 Annual Conference

October 8–11, 2019

St. Louis, MO

Aspiring Allies: Exploring Leadership Approaches to Building Solidarity in Student Affairs Administration

Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 2:40 PM–3:25 PM CDT
Grand F (85)
Select the FIRST area in which your presentation best fits.

Colleges and Universities

Presentation Format Requested

Shared Concurrent Session (Approx. 12 or 20 minutes)

Session Abstract

Working with and supporting diverse students from a dominant group identity is an important endeavor in critical reflection for higher education professionals. The concept of allyship, while scrutinized in recent literature, offers critical considerations in developing inclusive leadership approaches to student advising, support services, and student affairs administration. 

Target Audience

The target audience for this session includes adult and postsecondary education student affairs professionals and administrators, whose work directly impacts students through advising or student support services administration.  Secondary audiences include faculty, librarians, graduate students, human resources and professional development specialists, and other positions involving student support services. The emphasis on leadership models in this session applies to those in administrative and supervisory positions specifically, but will be applicable to practice for non-supervisory professionals as well.     

Learning Outcomes

- Consider the implications of privilege, power, and identity in working to support and build solidarity with diverse students and staff in advising and student affairs
- Define the concept of allyship from a dominant group identity as well as intersectional identities
- Understand the criticisms and challenges identified in the literature to the binaries of ally identity, the question of who can be called an ally, and the transformative learning processes of ally aspiration
- Make connections from the critical considerations of ally work to the more widely embraced models of servant leadership, transformative leadership and inclusive leadership

Session Description

In serving and supporting the empowerment of students and colleagues from diverse identities and backgrounds, allies, in theory, go beyond coaching or mentorship. From dominant group identities, cognizant of privilege and inequality, allies become full partners in breaking down barriers to educational access and social justice. However, there is a lack of consensus on the process of becoming or conferring allyship. Contention has arisen over the concept's binary implications and not accounting for the intersection of identities across what would be considered "dominant" and "non-dominant" groups. Some scholars and activists have suggested doing away with the term completely. 
A related line of inquiry has studied the application of leadership models to student affairs administration, specifically the empowerment of students and staff through the principles of servant leadership, transformative leadership and inclusive leadership. Lacking in these models though is the critical lens relevant to allyship, through which one views privilege, hegemony, and systemic inequality. Therefore, this session will present findings from a literature review on connections between allyship and leadership approaches for student affairs administration and student support professionals. This research is inspired by the presenter's own aspirations to allyship as a straight white male working in diverse educational environments.  

 

Format & Technique

This session is intended as a concurrent session where the presenter will share findings and strategies with the audience. The content of the session is planned to initiate audience dialogue and participation in offering insights, questions, and relevant experiences to enhance delivery and impact of the purpose.   

Primary Presenter

Michael, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Work Title

Doctoral Student

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