College Student Capacity for Socially Responsible Leadership: Understanding Norms and Influences of Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

This study examined college students’ capacities for socially responsible leadership using theoretical measures grounded in the social change model of leadership development (HERI, 1996). Findings represent responses from 50,378 participants enrolled at 52 colleges and universities across the United States. Students scored highest on the leadership construct of commitment and lowest on the construct of change. Specific attention was paid to the unique influences of race, gender, and sexual orientation. Women college students scored significantly higher than men on seven out of eight leadership measures. Complex findings associated with race reflect highest scores among African American and Black college students and lowest scores among Asian Pacific American college students. No significant differences emerged related to students’ reported sexual orientations. Results are interpreted in the context of higher education and student affairs practice along with suggestions for future research.

Resident Advisor General Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, Personality Dimensions, and Internal Belief Characteristics as Predictors of Rated Performance

Resident Advisors (RAs) have a significant hand in helping students adjust and thrive in college life. Given the importance of selecting high-performing RAs, this study sought to examine how well various measures of intelligence (e.g., general, emotional) in addition to personality and additional “internal belief” characteristics predict performance in the RA position, using hierarchical regression analyses. General intelligence, emotional intelligence, personality dimensions, and “internal beliefs” survey data were obtained from 36 university RAs. Performance data were obtained from self-reports by the RAs and also from 190 resident students rating their RAs. RA emotional stability, conscientiousness, and confidence in ability as an RA were found to be predictive of rated performance. Scores of emotional intelligence, but not general intelligence, were found to be significantly positively correlated with RA performance. However, emotional intelligence did not have incremental validity above the contribution of other measures. Implications for improving the current process of RA selection at colleges and directions for future research are discussed.

First-Year Students' Employment, Engagement, and Academic Achievement: Untangling the Relationship between Work and Grades

This study examined the relationships among first-year students’ employment, engagement, and academic achievement using data from the 2004 National Survey of Student Engagement. A statistically significant negative relationship was found between working more than 20 hours per week and grades, even after controlling for students’ characteristics and levels of engagement. An examination of the indirect relationships between work and grades revealed that working 20 hours or less on campus was significantly and positively related to grades, acting through student engagement.

Deconstructing Masculinity: A Qualitative Study of College Men's Masculine Conceptualizations and Gender Performance

Informed by the constructionist epistemological perspective, the purpose of this study was to examine socially constructed conceptualizations of masculinity and gender performance among 12 culturally diverse undergraduate men. The participants espoused seemingly productive conceptualizations of masculinity, yet their gendered behaviors were inconsistent with the conceptualizations they espoused. Based on the findings, recommendations for supporting the gender identity development of college men are proposed.

Fittin' In: Do Diverse Interactions with Peers Affect Sense of Belonging for Black Men at Predominantly White Institutions?

Prior research on interacting with diverse peers focuses on pooled samples including all racial/ethnic groups or specific subpopulations such as women and White men. Research on sense of belonging has tended to include part-time learners, Asians, and Latinos, but no studies were readily uncovered that focus on Black men. Addressing this gap in the literature, College Student Experiences Questionnaire data were analyzed for 231 Black and 300 White men (N = 531). Results suggest that cross-racial interactions were significant predictors for both groups; however, interactions with peers who have different interests was significant for Black men only. Implications for future practice and research are discussed.

Race and the Greek System in the 21st Century: Centering the Voices of Asian American Women

Analyzing interviews with 18 Asian American female undergraduates, this study seeks to understand how participants viewed the sorority system at a predominantly White institution in the Southeastern United States. Drawing from critical race theory, I argue that the ways in which women perceived and experienced both acceptance and marginalization in the Greek system testify to the complexity and subtlety of racial politics on campus. While women generally perceived sororities as open access, they also reported instances in which race mattered, such as the presence of status hierarchies within the sorority system and the underrepresentation of women of color in sororities.