Best Practices for Advising Black Student Leaders at PWIs Cameron Beatty, Antonio Bush, and Tomika Ferguson 2011 NASPA Conference, Philadelphia

Presentation Outline Introduction of Topic Current Study Small Group Activity Implications/Recommendations for Best Practices Questions

Social Climate Rudolf Moos’ (1987) Social Climate Dimensions Relationships System Maintenance & Change Personal Growth & Goal Orientation

Literature Review Black Students at PWIs Unwelcomed and unsupported (Steward, Jackson, & Jackson, 1990) Unmet needs (Arminio et al., 2000) Experiences of Black male students within student organizations (Harper & Quaye, 2007)

Current Study Black Student Leaders: The Influence of Social Climate in Social Organizations Research Question: How does the social climate of large non-culturally based campus governing boards at a predominantly White institution (PWI) influence Black student leaders? Methodology

Findings Three Salient Themes Mission and Direction Supportive Relationships Mutual Impact The social climate of student organizations can alter the student’s perception of their impact upon the organization.

Value Alignment for Student and Organization “I feel like the values are really aligned with how I feel as a person. And so it’s just like positive reinforcement…” –Charlotte “…it has as well as enhance[d] my education goals as well. It makes me want to go further and actually hold myself at a higher standard than what typical students that goes to [the university] would do.” -Brandi

Influence of Support on Commitment “They’ll criticize… but not really help.” – Henry “[The executives] offer advice, they lead by example, which I think is one of the best things you can do.” – Charlotte “Joining the [CPB]… let me know I had a position. I had control. I had a say in things that went on with campus. So it just made me feel like I belonged [sic]. “ - Dawn

Small group activity Case Study

Implications, Recommendations & Limitations Practice Alignment of values Supportive environment and relationships Unstructured responsive reviews Research Different lenses Sample

Questions and Discussion

Bibliography Beatty, C., Bush, A., Erxleben, E., Ferguson, T., Harrell, A., & Sahachartsiri, W. (2010). Black student leaders: The influence of social climate in student organizations. Journal of the Indiana University Student Personnel Association, pp Beatty%20et%20al.pdf Citations used in this presentation can be found in the reference page.f the above article.

Contact Information Cameron Beatty, Iowa State University Antonio Bush, North Carolina State University Tomika Ferguson, Indiana University