Our Mission and Vision
The Pennsylvania State University’s Center for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) is one of the nation’s first research centers established specifically to study postsecondary education policy issues. Since the founding of CSHE in 1969, faculty members have engaged in research that has informed policy and decision-making at the institutional, state, and national level. In 2022, CSHE restructured to become an interdisciplinary center with a mission to conduct anti-oppressive research and partnerships that offer insight into and solutions for complex racial, social, economic, political, and legal issues in postsecondary education. CSHE faculty research associates and graduate assistants are especially concerned with dismantling the global, intersecting systems of oppression that contribute to racial inequality in postsecondary education.
Leveraging our research, we catalyze effective outreach, training, and partnerships with institutional leaders, policymakers, students, and other constituents to remediate and dismantle oppressive logics, policies, and practices.
Our vision is to radically transform the ways in which college and universities operate in service of racial and social equity.
PROGRAMS
Academy for Anti-Racist Leadership
Across the United States, many colleges and universities have issued statements pledging to take a stand against racism in all its forms. The Anti-Racist Leadership Academy is designed for academic administrators who have joined the growing movement for racial justice.
Academic Leadership Academy
Since its first cohort in 2010, the Academic Leadership Academy has endeavored to enhance the ability of academic administrators to provide leadership within their respective institutions.
Holistic Reimagining of Faculty Academy
This academy provides time with faculty, experts, and peers to gain perspective on recruitment, mentoring, and retention practices that both do and do not create community and meaningful engagement for faculty of color.
Equity Pedagogy Network
Embracing Diversity by Institutionalizing Equity Pedagogy and Culturally Sustaining Curricula
Law and Governance in Higher Education Mentoring Roundtables
Law, legal issues, finance, and governance in higher education are the topics of these intensive seminars for small groups of pre-tenured faculty members who write and teach in these areas of study.
PSU Higher Education Department
Learn more about Penn State’s Higher Education Program and meet its highly-respected faculty swho share their expertise in numerous research arenas.
CSHE NEWS
Dr. Roderick Lee Among Three Selected for Penn State’s Administrative Fellows Program
Dr. Wilson Okello featured as a Transformational Scholar and Rising Star
Penn State Lehigh Valley hosted Dr. Nathanial Brown for a guest lecture
Dr. Roderick Lee presented at Inaugural Black Issues in Computing Education Symposium (BICE)
Dr. Wilson Okello’s distinguished scholarship was recognized with the Association for the Study of Higher Education’s Early Career Award 2023
Dr. José Cossa named as new UNESCO-IBE Documentation Center Fellow
HIGHLIGHTS
Dr. Janice Byrd chaired AERA SIG and CSHE Sponsored awards session at the 2024 AERA Annual Meeting
Dr. Byrd chaired The Critical Examination of Race, Ethnicity, Class and Gender in Education Business Meeting and Awards Ceremony and Reception, sponsored by CSHE, at AERA on April 12th 2024 in Philidelphia. Dr. Byrd will continue as chair of this AERA Special Interest Group in coming years. Read more at https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aera/aera24/index.php?program_focus=view_session&selected_session_id=2137069&cmd=online_program_direct_link&sub_action=online_program
Dr. José Cossa addressed "Data Ethics and Responsible Research Practices: Navigating Ethical Challenges in Educational Research" at 2024 AERA Meeting
At AERA 2024, Dr. Cossa faciliated a fireside chat to explore new trends and current perspectives on ethics and equity in today’s research settings. In today’s broadened world of ethical considerations, educational researchers must now navigate a multifaceted landscape that encompasses inclusivity, transparency, community engagement, social justice, and adequate use of research outcomes. For more information on this session, visit https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aera/aera24/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Session&selected_session_id=2140825&PHPSESSID=hjim7ul5040jheols30bah0dp9
Dr. Janice Byrd's discussed her study "The Racialized Experiences of Graduate Students of Color at One Large HWI" at 2024 AERA Meeting
Dr. Byrd discussed her work “The Racialized Experiences of Graduate Students of Color at One Large HWI” at the Exclusive Inclusion of White Space: Systemic Racism Experiences of Students of Color in Higher Education Symposium in April 2024 at the AERA Annual Meeting. They symposium center on Black and non-Black students’ of Color experiences of systemic racism and microaggressions and ways that they push back against them. Read more at https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aera/aera24/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Session&selected_session_id=2112575&PHPSESSID=hjim7ul5040jheols30bah0dp9
Dr. Wilson Kwamogi Okello presented "Unspeakable joy: On loving Blackness as a practice of joy" at 2024 AERA Meeting
Dr. Okello presented his paper “Unspeakable joy: On loving Blackness as a practice of joy” at the “You can’t steal my joy! Practices and possibilities for Black Joy in urban education” symposium at the AERA Meeting on April 13th, 2024. This symposium highlighted research that materializes the joyful Black futures we have been dreaming of through narratives focused on the spatial, affective, theoretical, and methodological promises of Black joy in urban education. Read more at at https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aera/aera24/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Paper&selected_paper_id=2108922&PHPSESSID=hjim7ul5040jheols30bah0dp9
Dr. Wilson Kwamogi Okello presented "Breaking Bread: Toward Loving Critique as Praxis in Educational Discourse" in a roundtable at the 2024 AERA Meeting
Dr. Okello participated in the roundtable “Building Brave Spaces for Truth & Equity: Activation of Critical Discourse In Theory & Praxis” to discuss his co-authored work “Breaking Bread: Toward Loving Critique as Praxis in Educational Discourse” at AERA 2024. This work explores the fundamental question of how might Black dialogic praxis engender deeper engagement with academic teaching, research, and study practices in the service of Black possibility? To read more about this event, visit https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aera/aera24/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Session&selected_session_id=2133997&PHPSESSID=hjim7ul5040jheols30bah0dp9
Dr. Ashley Patterson addressed "Dismantling Racial+ Injustice Through Systems Change Work" through "A Conversation About Pennsylvania’s Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Educational Practices" at AERA 2024
Dr. Patterson presented “The backlash and legal challenges to the infusion of culturally relevant and sustaining education competencies in PA teacher preparation and professional development” as part of the “Dismantling Racial+ Injustice Through Systems Change Work: A Conversation About Pennsylvania’s Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Educational Practices” symposium at the 2024 AERA Conference. In this work, the authors describe this push back and contextualize it within the ongoing national threats to educational opportunities as they articulate their response aimed at dismantling racial injustices embedded in educational practices. They shared lessons learned that can inform others efforts to advocate for this urgent and important area of teacher preparation and professional. To learn more about this symposium, visit https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aera/aera24/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Session&selected_session_id=2102697&PHPSESSID=hjim7ul5040jheols30bah0dp9
Dr. Wilson Kwamogi Okello presented "Against the Grain: Deep Reading as Abolitionist Praxis in Education" at the 2024 AERA Conference
At AERA 2024, Dr. Okello discussed his coauthored work “Against the Grain: Deep Reading as Abolitionist Praxis in Education” at The Educational Possibilities of Truth-Telling: Dismantling Dominant Narratives of Race, Place, and Histories paper session on April 12th, 2024. This conceptual manuscript deploys an abolitionist frame to grapple with how deep reading as a curricular practice can ethically advance collaborative intellectual praxis, or interdisciplinary research, teaching, and study in education. Read more at https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aera/aera24/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Session&selected_session_id=2129425&PHPSESSID=hjim7ul5040jheols30bah0dp9
Dr. Wilson Kwamogi Okello was a panelist for the "Ecological Perspectives of Well-Being in Higher Education Spaces" event at 2024 AERA Meeting
At AERA, 2024, Dr. Okello discussed his work “Freedom Dreams: Black Artists’ Visions of the Future in Post-Secondary Education Contexts” at the event “Ecological Perspectives of Well-Being in Higher Education Spaces.” The primary objective of the symposium was to identify diverse, effective, and identity-conscious ways in which researchers and educators are approaching postsecondary students’ well-being and thriving, with the whole student in mind. Read more at https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aera/aera24/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Session&selected_session_id=2108217&PHPSESSID=hjim7ul5040jheols30bah0dp9
Dr. Janice Byrd and Dr. LaWanda Ward chaired #WeWillRest: Dismantling Racial and Gender Injustice Through Personal and Professional Possibilities of Stillness in the Midst of Grind Culture at 2024 AERA Conference
Dr. Byrd and Dr. LaWanda Ward chaired #WeWillRest: Dismantling Racial and Gender Injustice Through Personal and Professional Possibilities of Stillness in the Midst of Grind Culture on April 13, 2024, at the AERA conference in Philidelphia. Guided by Tricia Hersey’s groundbreaking manifesto, Rest is Resistance, this panel of Black scholars/educators/activists presented interpretive and actualized frameworks for stillness, silence, dreaming, breathing, and being within the manic pace of academia. Read more at https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aera/aera24/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Session&selected_session_id=2137065&PHPSESSID=hjim7ul5040jheols30bah0dp9
Dr. Kamaria B. Porter's paper "Racialized Barriers to Reporting Sexual Assault Among Black Women" highlighted at symposium at the 2024 AERA Meeting
Dr. Porter presented her paper “Racialized Barriers to Reporting Sexual Assault Among Black Women” as a part of the “Division J Vice Presidential Session: Dismantling Injustice in Campus Policing and Reimagining Safety” symposium on April 12 at the 2024 AERA Meeting in Philidelphia. The paper focuses on the narratives of Black women and nonbinary survivors to understand how they evaluated postsecondary institutional reporting options through the lens of race and gender. Read more at https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aera/aera24/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Session&selected_session_id=2111887&PHPSESSID=0345bvhbqta4jh1cca12dl1t1k
Dr. LaWanda W. M. Ward to participate in the "Gatekeeping & Gaslighting: Systematic Obstructions to Tenure for Black Women Faculty" symposium at AESA 2024
Dr. Ward presented her paper “Black Women Academics and Title VII Lawsuits: Academic Bullying as a Form of Gendered-Race Discrimination” at the 2024 AERA Meeting on April 14 as a part of the “Gatekeeping & Gaslighting: Systematic Obstructions to Tenure for Black Women Faculty” symposium. The symposium advanced solutions and institutional practices that discriminatorily exclude Black women from tenure. Read more at https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aera/aera24/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Session&selected_session_id=2097522&PHPSESSID=0345bvhbqta4jh1cca12dl1t1k
Dr. Leticia Oseguera presened co-authored work "Deciphering the Reciprocal Relationship Between Social Influence and STEM Integration in a STEM Intervention Program" at 2024 AESA Conference
Dr. Oseguera presented an AERA 2024 poster session on her work “Deciphering the Reciprocal Relationship Between Social Influence and STEM Integration in a STEM Intervention Program,” which explores the intricate dynamics between social influence and STEM integration among students in the STEM Scholars Program (SSP). Read more at https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aera/aera24/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Paper&selected_paper_id=2104084&PHPSESSID=hjim7ul5040jheols30bah0dp9
Dr. LaWanda W. M. Ward presented her paper "¿Hacia Adonde Vamos Ahora? Gag Order Laws and Their Implications for Tenure-Seeking Latinx Women" at the 2024 AESA Meeting
Dr. Ward discussed “¿Hacia Adonde Vamos Ahora? Gag Order Laws and Their Implications for Tenure-Seeking Latinx Women” at the “Latinx/a/o in Higher Education: A Critical Examination of Experiences, Policies and Practices” at a roundtable session on April 11, 2024 at the 2024 AERA Conference. Her critical qualitative study interrogates how proposed and current gag order laws impact the lives of tenure-seeking Latinx women at public, very high research-intensive institutions in Florida and Texas. Read more at https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aera/aera24/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Session&selected_session_id=2137041&PHPSESSID=0345bvhbqta4jh1cca12dl1t1k
Leticia Oseguera and Gilberto Conchas guest edit a special issue of The Journal of Leadership, Equity, and Research
Current discourses around race, coupled with rising price tags of postsecondary education have presented new challenges to Latina/o/x students pursuing higher education. Co-authored with Marco Murillo, the section examines advancing opportunities to expand Latina/o/x postsecondary education success.
Read the full issue here.
Dr. Ashley Patterson Speaks on Dignity in The Community
On Global Dignity Day 2022, Dr. Patterson, along with President Neeli Bendapudi, Dr. Michael Wade Smith, Dr. Beth Seymour and Kevin Kassab held a talk to speak on the importance of treating everyone with dignity. Information on Penn State’s Global Dignity Day events and registering your own dignity pledge can be found here.
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