Belonging in Higher Education

Belonging in Higher Education: Perspectives and Lessons from Diverse Faculty illuminates autoethnographic stories of belonging in higher education in the United States. Chapter counter/stories are contributed by African American, Asian American, Latinx American, Indigenous American, and BIPOC individuals who work in diversity-related positions in the academy. Chapters are written by faculty who work in different institutional contexts such as Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs); minority-serving institutions (MSIs) like Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); and institutional types such as community colleges, teaching-focused, and research-focused institutions. Chapter authors represent a range of diversities, coming from a variety of inter- and transdisciplinary backgrounds in terms of their fields of study and research foci, including Education, Psychology, Sociology, and Gender Studies. The counter/narratives in the book celebrate diverse experiences and offer unique and useful insights about how to foster what foreword author, Michael Eric Dyson, refers to as "deep belonging," particularly for those who have been ostracized, marginalized, or expelled while working in higher education. This critical volume is an essential reading for researchers, faculty, administrators, and graduate students in Education, Sociology, Psychology, Student Affairs, African American Studies, and Asian American Studies. Additionally, it offers crucial insights for individuals who are key stakeholders in foregrounding policy that centers belonging for diverse faculty. Winner of "Society of Professors of Education 2025 Outstanding Book Award Honorable Mention"

Nicholas D. Hartlep holds the Robert Charles Billings Endowed Chair of Education and chairs the Education Studies Department at Berea College, USA. Terrell L. Strayhorn is Vice Provost of Faculty Development, Professor of Education and Psychology, and Director of the Center for the Study of HBCUs at Virginia Union University, USA. Fred A. Bonner II is the Wilhelmina F. Delco Endowed Chair in Educational Leadership at Prairie View A&M University and Texas A&M University System (TAMUS) Regents Professor, USA.

Part 1: The Belonging Experiences of African Americans in U.S. Higher Education 1. Sense of Belonging and Black Faculty Turnover at Two-Year Community Colleges: A Critical Case Study 2. Black Leaders Matter: Racial Battle Fatigue and Belongingness in the Work of a Black Senior Administrator 3. Queering Teacher Education: A QueerCrit Autoethnography of A Queer Black Teacher Educator 4. Faculty Belonging at Historically Black Colleges and Universities: The Role of Mentoring and Sponsoring Relationships Part 2: The Belonging Experiences of Asian/Americans in U.S. Higher Education 5. You are Young, That's Why We Hired You: How Hiring Managers Can Increase the Sense of Belonging in Young Administrators 6. Seeing Double and/or Willful Ignorance? Counter/Narratives from "Becky R. Nedo" on the Politics of (Not) Belonging in a White-Supremacist School of Education 7. Do You See Us?: Belongingness Experiences of Asian Americans in Senior Leadership Positions in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Part 3: The Belonging Experiences of Latinx Americans in U.S. Higher Education 8. "It's not just about the words on paper:" A Latino's testimonio of his experiences with a wannabe anti-racist institution 9. From "Be a Dear and Take Notes" to "Build the Program Around Her": My Paradoxical Journey of Belonging Amidst My Double Bind Status 10. Academic Familismo as Refusal Part 4: The Belonging Experiences of Indigenous Americans in U.S. Higher Education 11. Be-ing and Longing in the Shadow of Jeffrey Amherst 12. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Belonging in Higher Education: A Collaborative Study of a Liberal Arts University Part 5: The Belonging Experiences of BIPOC People in Diversity-Related Positions (non-tenure-track) in U.S. Higher Education 13. Navigating Higher Ed for a Sense of Belonging 14. Is There Room for Me at the Table? Seeking a Sense of Belonging in the Academy