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Despite the emergence of new scholarship, public higher education boards in the United States remain relatively under-investigated. While the literature on higher education governance and boards, in particular, tends to profess these knowledge gaps repeatedly, few works have scratched the surface as to why our understanding of boards is so limited. In this paper, the authors move past the acknowledgment that boards are vastly understudied to reflect on why that is the case. Using a case study centered on interviews with governance scholars, the authors highlight findings of logistical, theoretical, methodological, and epistemological rationale that have prevented governing boards from being studied in a manner, depth, and scope on par with their import in higher education. The authors present the case that researchers must first recognize and then identify ways to address and overcome these challenges to innovate research in the field of governance, particularly in a higher education environment in which boards are more visible. Implications for future research are provided.

Researchers conducted a qualitative content analysis to investigate the observable involvement of 22 Governing Boards with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts at colleges and universities. Using a merged theoretical framework of Rall et al.'s (Journal of Education Human Resources 38:139-164, 2020) Culturally Sustaining Governance and LePeau's (The Review of Higher Education 39:97-122, 2015) Cycle of Making Continuous Commitments to Diversity and Inclusion, the findings revealed that Boards act in similar ways to an electrical socket between internal and external stakeholders associated with DEI efforts. Boards receive information from stakeholders at points in time and episodically 'plug in' to DEI efforts such as endorsing policies or diversity plans. The study highlights the nature and potential of governance partnerships to advance DEI work. Implications encourage Boards to enhance their capacity to partner and support organizational change.

Based on intensive interviews with 39 participants across four geographically and politically diverse public institutions, this study describes the concept of "student political fluency," the core category developed using constructivist grounded theory. The development of political fluency reflects the expertise a student has based on their political knowledge and actions, informed by their salient social identities, and contextualized by their desired political outcome(s). Four phases frame the development of student political fluency within the collegiate environment, including politically motivating experiences, cognitive negotiation, applying political identity(ies), and political identity congruence. Informed by the new concept, implications for policy and practice draw attention to optimal strategies and tactics that encourage equitable forms of campus-based political pedagogy leading to the realization of a politically dynamic and inclusive campus climate, which can contribute to a range of desirable individual and societal outcomes.

There is inconclusive evidence on the ability of scientific research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education to scale-up from one context to another and ultimately become institutionalized. The dearth of evidence draws focus on how organizations change and evolve or the process of organizational learning. We designed this systematic review of the literature to uncover to what extent and how organizational theory has been leveraged within STEM interventions or as a research tool to inform the policies and practices of STEM education organizations. Unlike previous reviews, we explicitly focused on how organizational learning informs cultural transformation toward the success of racially and ethnically underrepresented minority (URM) students in STEM. The research question was: How has organizational theory and learning informed the potential for STEM education to center the success of URM students? Our results reveal that STEM entities that did not leverage organizational theory consistently fell into either the "decision trap" identified by Langely et al. created by ignoring temporal structures or deemed the innovation threatening, as Kezar suggested. We conclude with practical recommendations for the design of STEM education interventions.

Previous research in higher education often considers social identity characteristics and how they intersect with a range of educational outcomes. Yet, few studies have investigated how higher education informs both the development of social identities and a distinct political identity. Based on interviews with 39 students across four institutions, this article presents findings from a phenomenological analysis that captures the essence of students developing political identities while navigating other aspects of their personal development. The themes that make up the essence of this phenomenon include precollege formative political experiences and how salient social identities contextualize discourses about why students are in college. These experiences serve as guide rails in their political identity development. Implications highlight the necessity of researchers and educators employing intersectionality as a form of critical praxis in political engagement work and attending to inequities that stem from student's precollege political socialization.

In an era where many states' postsecondary education governance dynamics are evolving, we set out to understand whether state-level governing boards with centralized governance functions affected institutions' decisions to engage in in-person instruction during the fall of 2020, the first fall of the Covid-19 pandemic. We examined sociopolitical features related to the strength of governance functions of centralized state boards. The data alluded to linkages between Republican control and lower bachelor's degree attainment linking (β = −.45) with weaker centralized governance. We also found a negative effect from increased centralized governance functions (β = −.12) to in-person instruction at public 4-year institutions for fall 2020. This paper gives a real-time opportunity to see if the characteristics of governing boards influence return to campus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State-level governing boards (SLGBs) can play an essential regulatory role as intermediaries between the public, state-elected officials, and campus-level leadership. However, these boards have been understudied within higher education relative to their enormous potential to influence postsecondary institutions and state political dynamics via the ways they engage and leverage political discourse in the agenda setting process. To explore this latent function, the authors analyze strategic plans generated by SLGBs of 33 states to theorize how these entities leverage economic, public purpose, and accountability discourses in the policymaking process. The overarching questions were: 1) what are the dominant discourses in SLGB strategic plans and 2) to which audience are these plans directed? The authors build on the concepts of collaborative governance and the Policy Streams Model of Decentralization Agenda Setting to illuminate and contextualize dimensions of the potential for SLGBs to operate as important policy actors. The authors present a conceptual framework that can help scholars better understand how SLGBs and policy discourses interact to achieve institutional and state priorities. Implications for policymakers engaging in strategic planning are also included.

Faculty and administrators at postsecondary institutions continue to grapple with understanding the dynamic nature of student activism. In response, the National Survey of Student Engagement administered a supplemental item set following the 2016 presidential election, in which more than 3,000 respondents were asked about their involvement in activism. Leveraging these data, this study employed multilevel modeling to measure the relationship between activist behaviors and student backgrounds, high-impact practice (HIP) participation, involvement in student activities, and institutional characteristics. The present study adds nuance to and models the connection among HIPs, student identities (e.g., queer, black or African American), and student activism. Implications for practice and research are shared that outline a renewed understanding of student activism as a pillar of civic learning and democratic engagement work in higher education.

Background: Engineering can play a significant role in the public good. Changing political dynamics and a surge in activism among the broader science community have only heightened this reality. Yet little published research exists about how engineering students develop both their technical and political identities to affect the broader society. Purpose: This study sought to extend and complicate notions of engineering education that grapple with the political preparation of undergraduate students. The research question was the following: In what ways do students majoring in engineering navigate the process of acquiring an attitude of political fluency? Design: Case study methodology informed the research design with undergraduate engineering majors serving as the primary unit of analysis. Focus groups involving a total of 20 students and a review of electronic documents were conducted across three institutions in the Northeastern U.S. to produce data for this qualitative study. Results: Engineering students described experiencing the following tensions that shaped their political involvement: (a) limited exposure to politically motivating events, (b) privileging private gains while noting aspirational contributions to the public good, and (c) politics positioned at the periphery of engineering. Conclusions: Consistent with increased attention to social justice and civic engagement outcomes, political engagement is a critical educational outcome for engineering educators to cultivate. However, if engineering programs are to contribute to the political identity formation of their students, structural changes in the preparation of engineering students will be necessary.

More American college students spend their time working in paid employment than in the past. Prior scholarship has focused on the relationship between work and conventional outcomes (e.g., grades, persistence, and engagement), but little is known about the impact of students' work on civic engagement. As campuses are called to prepare students for both careers and civic life, this analysis contributes evidence regarding a potentially tenuous relationship between students' employment and their subsequent willingness and ability to connect to their larger community. Findings reveal that on-campus jobs increase the odds that students develop civic commitments, while off-campus jobs do not.

This study focuses on the role of interpersonal experiences within students' political identity development. Based on interviews with 22 undergraduate student leaders from two small liberal arts colleges in different regions of the country, the study reveals the role of the interpersonal dimensions of campus climate on students' willingness or ability to be politically engaged. The article concludes with recommendations on how educators can work to understand campus political norms.

State-level governing boards (SLGBs) play integral roles in the leadership and governance of higher education. Oftentimes, though, their role and influence are understated or ignored in scholarship. In this article, the authors recenter the integral impact of these boards and push for a better understanding of their impact on higher education. Specifically, through an examination of 33 strategic plans, the authors consider how SLGBs can better manage the equity challenges within colleges and universities. Recognizing that higher education governance is complex and involves many moving parts, the authors present an argument for how SLGBs can influence postsecondary equity work. This article helps elucidate how SLGBs intersect with prevailing equity discourses and support higher education leaders to better recognize and understand the surreptitious ways equity is absent from pivotal discourses despite the best intentions and measured efforts of entities such as state-level governing boards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the positive effects of cross-racial interactions for students, predominantly White sororities remain segregated. Utilizing focus group methods, this study investigates the racial attitudes of White sorority women to understand the influence of sororities on racial attitudes. Findings revealed that participants in this study minimized race, thought about diversity within context, and perceived barriers to cross-racial interactions. These findings have important implications for campus professionals who work with sorority women.

In this study, we interviewed victims of bias incidents and members of a bias response team to investigate the process the team used to respond to incidents. Incidents included acts of sexism, homophobia, and racism on a large, predominantly White research university in the Midwest. Data were analyzed using a 4-stage coding process. The emergent model focused on the way the bias response team members connected to students, other team members, and colleagues from across campus to respond to the bias incidents. Important tensions that team members navigate also became evident and are depicted in the model. Findings from this study inform practice by illuminating the complexity of how educators carry out social justice work on a campus. Furthermore, this study expands diversity scholarship by examining the intersection between individuals, campus climate, and their environment.

In this article, the authors focus on the intersection of the study of activism and the urban community college. Leveraging the Actors, Contexts, Tactics, and Strategies (ACTS) Framework, the authors (re)examine activism scholarship that illuminates similarities and differences between 2‐ and 4‐year institutions. Ultimately, the article concludes with implications for practice and future research that can deepen and sustain the position of community colleges as contributors to the rich legacy of urban activism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substantive cross-racial interaction on college campuses has been known to have positive effects on student learning and development (Chang, Astin, & Kim, 2004). However, literature shows that students from different minoritized racial groups often remain separated from majority White groups, such as fraternities, thus prohibiting each group to realize the benefits such interaction could offer (Sidanius, Laar, Levin, & Sinclair, 2004). Utilizing focus group methods, this study investigated the racial attitudes of 20 senior, White, Interfraternity Council men in order to better show how the fraternity culture and experience influence the racial attitudes of members. This study found four themes that help illuminate how racist attitudes are formed and reproduced in these organizations. The implications of this study are useful for student affairs professionals concerned with the ways in which racial dynamics on predominantly White campuses affect the campus climate for diversity and the character development of students.

Demographic shifts within the nation have elicited an explicit and implicit call to action to address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Topics such as curriculum, access, and tuition and individuals such as students, faculty, staff, and even administrators are presently foci for equity-centered initiatives and research within higher education. Within the equity imperative, however, one vital stakeholder group continues to be ignored in both research and practice--governing boards of higher education. As the group situated at the highest level of leadership, governance, and decision-making in higher education institutions, it is of great concern that research has not explored the role of the board as related to issues of equity, inclusion, and diversity. The authors reflect on the development of culturally sustaining governance (CSG) and the ways it can be applied in higher education. The authors argue for an increase of scholarship at the intersection of governance and equity. The authors discuss their work with boards as an example of how culturally sustaining governance facilitates a recognition of decision-making that intentionally prioritizes matters of equity and justice. Specifically, using document analysis, extant literature, and exemplar board cases, the authors present and define CSG within higher education, then delineate its features specifically for boards. The authors encourage additional research in this space in order to advance equity goals in higher education. Ultimately, the authors suggest that to better recognize, comprehend, and challenge systemic educational and social injustices, postsecondary stakeholders must consider and center the decision-making practices of trustee boards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]