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Diversity and diversity education are driving forces in metropolitan universities that seek stronger alignment with nearby metropolitan statistical areas. As a result, many metropolitan universities wish to engage in diversity efforts; however, they often lack the resources for doing so. In addition, institutional efforts are often the result of administrative-originated programs of diversity impact rather than faculty-driven curricular and co-curricular efforts (Scott & Sims, 2016). In this case study, the authors offer two faculty-driven diversity programs with a proven record of accomplishment as models of transformative learning practice for faculty and institutions to replicate. The programs have been in existence for more than 10 years and have benefited both the students and universities alike.

Undergraduate research in higher education has become a movement linked to institutional efforts at integrating high-impact practices and infusing transformative learning. University of Central Oklahoma's Diverse Student Scholars (DSS) is one such program of faculty mentorship that is hosted by a department of marketing within a college of business. This article overviews DSS and introduces a five-faceted model of student transformation from embedded research mentorship in marketing courses. Based on DSS student reflections, the data suggest that embedded research mentorship generates student transformation in five areas: a transformed research mindset, personal self-discovery, applied career development, team preparation and appreciation, and reflective and corrective growth.

Black women are change agents actively working within their power to combat systemic racism in academia, while constantly battling injustices. Understanding lived realities and experiences of racial ethnic minority women as "outsiders within" is crucial for confronting long-standing racism embedded within academic spaces. Institutions may be outwardly addressing racial injustice, and perpetuating injustices internally, whether known or unknown. Using a relational dialectics framework and letter writing style, the purpose of this commentary is to describe the complexities present in experiences of Black women as they navigate academia as change agents, from the perspectives of tenure track and tenured faculty members in predominately White institutions. Black women academics contend with the push and pull of being in relationship with students, colleagues, and predominately White institutions; these tensions illuminate the experience of both/and-ness creating a constant presence of uncertainty/certainty, pushing/pivoting, and conforming/disrupting among others. Black women faculty are actively working to overcome barriers in research and practice and actively recognizing how racism is acting in academic settings. Black women are dealing with their own personal/professional situations, while also advocating interpersonally through mentorship, institutionally through incorporating underrepresented voices in research/practice, and strategically through addressing policies prompting action. This commentary shares the breadth, scope, and uniqueness of Black women experiences in higher education. This article concludes with implications for practice, including utilizing dialectic introspection to illuminate Black women, disrupting the norm by utilizing letters to center Black women, and building collectives to foster connections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tests McGuire’s (1961, 1962, 1964, 1970) inoculation theory as a strategy to protect value-indiversity attitudes and investigates the impact of inoculation messages on minority and non-minority issue involvement. Results failed to support an overall inoculation effect, but instead indicate a more nuanced path to resistance within the organizational diversity context. Minority members experienced greater susceptibility of their pro-diversity attitudes, and inoculation posed a viable strategy for conferring attitudinal resistance with higher involvement levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research seeks to better understand the experiences of African American female entrepreneurs using a price-based, dialectical approach. Through 20 interviews with African American female entrepreneurs about their experiences of managing, marketing, and obtaining business financing, the costs and benefits they experienced as entrepreneurs are explored. Using grounded theory, the interviews were analyzed and four price-based dialectics emerged: (1) Changing self vs. Maintaining self, (2) Being distrustful of others vs. Being faithful and trusting in God, (3) Weak support from own ethnicity vs. Strong supportive ethnic identity, and (4) Being halted by others' perceptions vs. Moving forward despite pre-conceived notions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores internal motivations o f entrepreneurship through identifying self-characteristics and probing self-discrepancies. A content analysis process examined interviews with 20 African American female entrepreneurs, and identified 259 self-characteristics from participants ' own standpoint and 94 self-characteristics from others 'standpoint. Coding results reveal entrepreneurs describe themselves with positive self-characteristics, not associated with their race or gender. Nearly the opposite was true when entrepreneurs mentioned self-characteristics from others' standpoint, which were more negative and had greater mentions o f ethnicity and gender. Results suggest self-discrepancies exist in the content o f self-characteristics and in the negativity that entrepreneurs associate with how they are perceived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A severe or life-threatening illness can be difficult in a relationship. A situation as serious as a spouse becoming ill can be overwhelming, especially if the care giving spouse has never considered what their reaction would be in such a case. Couples go into relationships with a certain set of beliefs and behaviors that can help or hinder the dyadic coping styles used and the subsequent marital quality (Berg & Upchurch, 2007). Similarly, couples are often unaware of their communication styles and their perceptions, or their scripts, of what is appropriate, (Walker & Dickson, 2004). These self-misunderstandings and partner misconceptions can leave couples ill-equipped to cope with the challenges an illness can inflict on a committed relationship. However, researchers have a rather limited comprehension of how premarital candidates would view life-threatening illness (LTI) in a marriage or their perceptions on the level and quality of communication behaviors individuals who are in or are not in a relationship expect. Current research has focused mostly on chronic illnesses typically among older couples who have been married for an extended period of time (e.g., Berg & Upchurch, 2007; Lavery & Clarke, 1999; Walker & Dickson, 2004). Very little focus has been allotted to the relational expectations of illness-related communication over a wide range of ages and development. Understanding these relational expectations concerning communication behavior in the event that a relational partner is diagnosed with a LTI is the focus of this investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation focused on providing a more nuanced understanding of the message retention-attitude (cognition-affect) relationship in new product introductions. Using advertising and publicity as independent and combined promotional tools, this investigation focused on determining an effective approach to boost the strength of the retention-attitude relationship as well as the level of new product information retention and, through it, the attitude toward the product. To that end, a two-phase experiment was conducted involving 423 participants. The results revealed that in general publicity, compared to advertising, was a more effective strategy in boosting retention and that the publicity-publicity sequence strategy was the most effective in boosting the attitude toward the product as its consistent message content and format produced both direct and mediated effects of message retention on the product attitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented on the qualitative impact of involving undergraduates in research. It discusses the engagement of the faculty author of the research, the quantitative headcount given within the four academic years, and the qualitative impact of the experience not captured by the headcounts. It cites the evidence that a university or college is accomplishing its academic mission. It adds that quantitative headcounts express the amounts related with multi-faceted undergraduate research.