J. Luke Wood

This book advances recommendations for improving the success of men of color in community colleges. Drawing from insights gleaned from research on men of color, Wood and Harris extend strategies and practices that can advance advising, student services, and other support practices.

Community College Leadership and Management places emphasis on reframing college practices in order to advance student success. This calls for leaders to be well versed on promising strategies which have illustrated evidence in advancing academic success. Such practices include intrusive academic advising, exit interviews with dropouts and graduates, and the use of technology to supplement face-to-face academic counselor advising. These leaders are aware of and welcome the challenges and opportunities a changing student population presents to community colleges. The authors critically analyze and call for a deconstruction of conventional practices and the construction of new approaches to understand how student success is envisioned. For example, a redefinition of what constitutes student success is advanced. A redefinition of student success—as the attainment of an academic, vocational, career, or personal goal—is put forth. This broader perception, definition, and meaning of student success is not limited to or constrained by an accountability paradigm. It is driven by the need to capture a more complete picture of the trajectory of contemporary and traditional enrollees from increasingly diverse backgrounds: students whose goals do not fit solely and neatly into two traditionally dominant outcomes like graduation and transfer. It is the role of community college leaders to affirm, inculcate, and communicate this more nuanced definition, allowing it to guide the vision and mission, programs, policies, and practices of the institution. Carlos Nevarez and Luke J. Wood support their arguments through various models, frameworks, research findings, case studies, and presentation of self-reflective questions aimed at advancing reflective community college scholar-practitioners.

The comments presented in this book are based on lectures Dr. J. Luke Wood, Ph. D. gave during the Black Minds Matter course and during speeches that were associated with the class. The goal of this book is to convey social science research in a manner that is accessible to the people it is designed to reach. While this book is designed for educators of Black boys and men, the accessible tone is designed to ensure that the messages expressed are useful for non-educators - namely parents, community members, and advocates for Black males. The data presented in this book is derived from a review of extant research as well as Dr. Wood's own research findings. In particular, highlighted findings are from three guidebooks that are currently being used in the field. These guidebooks include: Supporting Men of Color in the Community College (Wood & Harris III, 2017), Teaching Men of Color in the Community College (Wood, Harris III, & White, 2015), and Teaching Boys and Young Men of Color (Wood & Harris III, 2017). Counter-narratives were contributed by 51 parents illuminating often untold stories. Dr. Wood offered his own narratives after each chapter, sharing experiences that directly relate to the chapter themes and content. Other people's narratives include people from marginalized groups sharing their lived experiences and some are from narratives contributed by parents to the Our Voices Project.

Guided by results from their national study of teachers with records of success in educating one of our nation's most underserved populations, Wood and Harris thoughtfully articulate strategies for effectively educating boys and young men of color. Their work provides compelling rationale for revised and enhanced teaching approaches that account for external pressures, racial and gender identities, stereotypes, and cultural factors that necessitate unique pedagogical practices. Educators who teach boys of color will benefit from this volume.

Black Men in Higher Education bridges theory to practice in order to better prepare practitioners in their efforts to increase the success of Black male students in colleges and universities. In this comprehensive but manageable text, leading researchers J. Luke Wood and Robert T. Palmer highlight the current status of Black men in higher education and review relevant research literature and theory on their experiences in various postsecondary education contexts. The authors also provide and contextualize innovative, actionable strategies and solutions to help institutions increase the participation and success of Black male college students. The most recent addition to the Key Issues on Diverse College Students series, this volume is a valuable resource for student affairs and higher education professionals to better serve Black men in higher education.

Black Men in Higher Education bridges theory to practice in order to better prepare practitioners in their efforts to increase the success of Black male students in colleges and universities. In this comprehensive but manageable text, leading researchers J. Luke Wood and Robert T. Palmer highlight the current status of Black men in higher education and review relevant research literature and theory on their experiences in various postsecondary education contexts. The authors also provide and contextualize innovative, actionable strategies and solutions to help institutions increase the participation and success of Black male college students. The most recent addition to the Key Issues on Diverse College Students series, this volume is a valuable resource for student affairs and higher education professionals to better serve Black men in higher education.

This book is designed to aid community college leaders in becoming ethical leaders. This aim is essential, as ethical leadership is needed to address the continual ethical quandaries and persistent leadership dilemmas (e.g., funding, governance, accountability, shifting student demographics) facing public postsecondary education in the current era. When leaders are fully committed to the ideals that underscore public education (e.g., public good, access, social mobility, civic engagement) and accept the notion that their role as leaders is to be a servant to others, ethical leadership serves as a roadmap to guide their decisions, actions, and advocacy. This volume serves as a comprehensive resource in articulating the foundational, conceptual, interpersonal, and practical dispositions of the critical need to develop leaders with high moral aptitudes.

This book is designed to aid community college leaders in becoming ethical leaders. This aim is essential, as ethical leadership is needed to address the continual ethical quandaries and persistent leadership dilemmas (e.g., funding, governance, accountability, shifting student demographics) facing public postsecondary education in the current era. When leaders are fully committed to the ideals that underscore public education (e.g., public good, access, social mobility, civic engagement) and accept the notion that their role as leaders is to be a servant to others, ethical leadership serves as a roadmap to guide their decisions, actions, and advocacy. This volume serves as a comprehensive resource in articulating the foundational, conceptual, interpersonal, and practical dispositions of the critical need to develop leaders with high moral aptitudes.

This book presents leaders and aspiring leaders in community colleges with a theoretical and practical framework for analyzing their leadership styles, and determining the dimensions of leadership they need to improve in order to strengthen their capacity to resolve complex issues and effectively guide their institutions. It does so through presenting theories about leadership that are congruent with the notions of equity, access, diversity, ethics, critical inquiry, transformational change, and social justice that drive the missions of community colleges, and at the same time provides the reader with the strategic skills to prepare for and navigate the profound changes ahead. Readers will gain an understanding of how to use theory as a tool to guide their practice, better understand the intricacies of the issues confronting them, the power dynamics and organizational context in which they operate, predict potential outcomes, and develop processes to achieve desired outcomes. Utilizing theory in conjunction with case study analysis provides community college leaders with the tools needed to comprehensively interrogate and inform decision-making processes. The authors provide a number of rich and realistically complex case studies, all of which are situated in a community college environment, to which readers can apply the various theories and perspectives, develop their view about the principles and actions most likely to lead to satisfactory outcomes, and hone the approaches to leadership that are authentic to them, and effective. The authors aim to help readers develop the multi-faceted approach to leadership that is essential to running complex organizations. They aim to promote development of the “whole” leader through a three-fold framework of theory, practice, and introspection in context of institutional change. In doing so, leaders will be better equipped to lead community colleges in challenging times. The authors tie AACC’s competencies to the leadership theories they cover, as well as to the analysis of the case studies, and leadership inventories, as an essential framework for developing the skill sets to enact the community college mission. The book is suitable for personal reading and reflection, institutional leadership retreats and training, and as a text for higher education courses.

This book presents leaders and aspiring leaders in community colleges with a theoretical and practical framework for analyzing their leadership styles, and determining the dimensions of leadership they need to improve in order to strengthen their capacity to resolve complex issues and effectively guide their institutions. It does so through presenting theories about leadership that are congruent with the notions of equity, access, diversity, ethics, critical inquiry, transformational change, and social justice that drive the missions of community colleges, and at the same time provides the reader with the strategic skills to prepare for and navigate the profound changes ahead. Readers will gain an understanding of how to use theory as a tool to guide their practice, better understand the intricacies of the issues confronting them, the power dynamics and organizational context in which they operate, predict potential outcomes, and develop processes to achieve desired outcomes. Utilizing theory in conjunction with case study analysis provides community college leaders with the tools needed to comprehensively interrogate and inform decision-making processes. The authors provide a number of rich and realistically complex case studies, all of which are situated in a community college environment, to which readers can apply the various theories and perspectives, develop their view about the principles and actions most likely to lead to satisfactory outcomes, and hone the approaches to leadership that are authentic to them, and effective. The authors aim to help readers develop the multi-faceted approach to leadership that is essential to running complex organizations. They aim to promote development of the “whole” leader through a three-fold framework of theory, practice, and introspection in context of institutional change. In doing so, leaders will be better equipped to lead community colleges in challenging times. The authors tie AACC’s competencies to the leadership theories they cover, as well as to the analysis of the case studies, and leadership inventories, as an essential framework for developing the skill sets to enact the community college mission. The book is suitable for personal reading and reflection, institutional leadership retreats and training, and as a text for higher education courses.

This book, a training tool for the 21st-century community college leader and administrator, deconstructs outdated practices and constructs new approaches to how contemporary community college leadership is viewed, practiced, and envisioned. Both timely and comprehensive, the book develops new models that are focused on facilitating leadership innovation, and encourages both formal and informal leaders to become active agents for change. A relevant case study, written by an experienced community college leader, follows each chapter. This book will be useful for courses in administration, leadership, management, and related areas, and presents contemporary skills for anyone who is a leader and/or administrator in an organization.

This book, a training tool for the 21st-century community college leader and administrator, deconstructs outdated practices and constructs new approaches to how contemporary community college leadership is viewed, practiced, and envisioned. Both timely and comprehensive, the book develops new models that are focused on facilitating leadership innovation, and encourages both formal and informal leaders to become active agents for change. A relevant case study, written by an experienced community college leader, follows each chapter. This book will be useful for courses in administration, leadership, management, and related areas, and presents contemporary skills for anyone who is a leader and/or administrator in an organization.