New Research Article on Multiracial Student Leaders

I have published a new article with my frequent collaborators Dr. Kim Bullington (Old Dominion University) and my former student Lindsy Perry (Austin Peay State University) entitled “Belonging, Racializing, and Placemaking in Student Organizations for Multiracial College Student Leaders” in the Journal of Campus Activities Practice & Scholarship (JCAPS). This is my 4th co-authored article in JCAPS as it provides a wonderful scholarly publication space for research specifically about student involvement and campus activities.

This latest article specifically presents findings from a national study of Multiracial undergraduate student leaders in student organizations. This qualitative narrative research builds on previous research which supports that Multiracial college students attempt to find sense of belonging in student organizations by negotiating multiple racial identities and locations in these often traditionally monoracial spaces. In this study, Multiracial students sought membership in organizations because they felt invisible at their institutions and these findings nuance their unique process of placemaking. Participants experienced monoracism and other racialized microaggressions within student organizations. Eventually, they developed a sense of belonging by curating a small cadre of friends through their organizational involvement. We offer many implications for practice connected to these findings that further inform approaches for student involvement professionals and others who work with Multiracial students to increase their support and engagement across involvement contexts.

This is an open-access article and available here through JCAPS.