SA Voices From the Field

Latest Episodes:

A Voice from Kuwait with Hala Al-Abdulrazzaq May 18, 2023

Show notes

This week on SA Voices From the Field, we interviewed Hala Al-Abdulrazzaq, Dean of Student Affairs at the American University of Kuwait (AUK).

Hala Al-Abdulrazzaq earned a B.A. in Psychology from George Washington University in 2005 and is currently pursuing her M.A. in Educational Leadership at the University of Central Florida. Since joining American University of Kuwait in 2008 as an academic advisor, Ms. Abdulrazzaq was appointed as Assistant Director in 2012 and Director of the Academic Advising Center in 2017. Ms. Abdulrazzaq continuously improved upon the academic advising landscape at AUK always maintaining the academic and holistic success of students as her ultimate goal. She was responsible for the efficient and effective operations of academic advising activities and carried out the responsibilities of quality academic advising services while continuously interfacing with faculty and staff alike.

As Dean, Ms. Abdulrazzaq is in charge of the Academic Advising Center, the Office of Student Life, the Counseling Center, and the direction and management of the Dean of Student Affairs Office.

Her approach to promoting excellence, encouragement, and hands-on support within the Division and AUK community is exemplary. Ms. Al- Abdulrazzaq' s willingness and efforts to enhance the student experience have not gone unnoticed.

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A Voice in China with Echo Zhao May 11, 2023

Show notes

This week on SA Voices From the Field, we interviewed PhD candidate in China, Echo Zhao.

Echo Zhao was an international student in the United States for about six years and a double alumnus of Iowa State University. Like many international students, she entered college underprepared to succeed. Her parents valued education but could not help her navigate college with their language barriers. She struggled with her academics, self-confidence, and sense of belonging.

She switched three majors because she was unsure of what she wanted to do. With different student affairs professors' support and help, she continued her master's degree in higher education-student affairs. Her college experience became the catalyst for her career in student affairs.

She has worked in 5 different departments within Student Affairs in 3 different types of institutions in her past working experiences. She realizes the need to connect practical practices with theoretical knowledge to further contribute to the international higher education field.

Meanwhile, she values herself as a lifelong learner. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Macau in the Faculty of Education. I hope I can continue supporting college students' dreams and empowering them to own their path to a degree in my current role and future.

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A Voice in Belgium with Mirela Mazalu May 04, 2023

Show notes

This week on SA Voices From the Field, we interviewed Mirela Mazalu, Secretary General of the European University College Association (EucA).

Mirela Mazalu spends her day job in the European higher education by helping students explore career pathways and gain confidence in their potential.

When she's not pursuing directly students' aha moments, she does it indirectly by organising professional development initiatives for student affairs staff internationally.

Her official job title is Secretary-General of the European University College Association - EucA, a non-profit association based in Belgium.

She joined EucA in 2010 and serves in her current capacity since 2017.

Mirela speaks 5 languages, Romanian, Italian, English, Spanish and French, and has lived in 3 countries, Romania, Italy and Belgium. But the best title she has is, simply, international educator.

When asked where home is, she feels most comfortable replying "Europe".

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A Voice in Qatar with Wadad Youssef El-Husseiny Apr 27, 2023

Show notes

This week on SA Voices From the Field, we interviewed Wadad Youssef El-Husseiny, Consultant to VP of Student Affairs at Qatar University.

Ms. Wadad Youssef El-Husseiny Consultant to VP of Student Affairs at Qatar University. She has worked at multiple institutions in the Middle East and started her career as Instructor of Social Sciences at Balamand University in Lebanon where she taught for a decade. In 2001, she joined the American University of Beirut as Director of Student Activities till 2009. Joined Qatar University as Consultant to VP of student affairs where she resumed the responsibility of Acting Director of Student Activities till May 2012. Since 2012 her role as consultant for the VP entitled her to get involved in various strategic initiatives to ensure the success of Qatar University students. She is the chair of the Student Affairs Professional Development committee at Qatar University.

Former vice president for the IASAS (International Association of Student Affairs and Services). Certified Springboard Trainer since 2010 which is Women's empowerment program in collaboration with Springboard Consultancy. Member of the MENASA-NASPA board for 2020-2022. Recipient of the Wisdom Award of the Commission of Women's Identities – ACPA in 2021. Interested in Leadership of Higher Education and Student Affairs, and women role in higher education.

Well known for having her finger on the pulse of the region, Wadad continues to be an engaged advocate of professional development, and student affairs leadership in the Middle East.

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Bonus Episode - Annual Conference Keynote with Dr. Sumun L. Pendakur Apr 20, 2023

Show notes

This week on SA Voices From the Field, we interviewed Dr. Sumun L. Pendakur, DEI Strategist/Consultant, Speaker, and Trainer with Sumun Pendakur Consulting.

Dr. Sumun L. Pendakur (Sumi) believes that we have infinite capability to imagine and enact a more just, equitable, and compassionate world. Sumi is a scholar-practitioner, an activist-educator, a skilled facilitator, and a mom. With nearly 20 years in the field of higher education and a decade as a DEI speaker and trainer, Sumi's work and research focuses on helping campuses, corporations, non-profits, and other organizations build capacity for social justice and racial equity by empowering individuals at all levels to be transformational agents of change in their spheres of influence. Most recently, Sumi was the Chief Learning Officer and Director of the USC Equity Institutes at the USC Race and Equity Center, dedicated to advancing racial justice in higher education and other sectors. Prior to that position, Sumi held roles as the Assistant Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion at Harvey Mudd College, serving on the President's Cabinet and directing the Office of Institutional Diversity, and as the Director for USC Asian Pacific American Student Services.

Sumi received her doctorate in Higher Education Leadership, as well as the Dissertation of the Year award, for her study on institutional change agents, from the USC Rossier School of Education. Sumi is serving her second term on the Board of Directors for NADOHE, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education. She has served as Faculty Coach for the AAC&U's multi-year TIDES (Teaching to Increase Diversity and Equity in STEM) Institute. She is also the co-editor, with Dr. Shaun Harper and Dr. Stephen Quaye, of Student Engagement in Higher Education: Theoretical Perspectives and Practical Approaches for Diverse Populations (3rd edition) (2020). In 2019, she was named one of the top 35 women in higher education by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine.

Sumi is the multilingual daughter of immigrants, was raised in the Midwest, and currently calls Los Angeles, CA, home. She is the wife of actor Sunil Malhotra, and proud mommy to Shashi Veer and Shama Shakti.

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See You at NASPA - Mid-Season Break Mar 23, 2023

Show notes

We are taking a few weeks break this season as Jill Creighton and Christopher Lewis will be heading to Boston to meet those of you that are going to be attending NASPA's Annual Conference. We have a number of additional amazing guests coming laster this season. Stay tuned as we will be back in a few weeks!

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A Voice from International NASPA With Janelle Rahyns Mar 16, 2023

Show notes

This week on SA Voices From the Field, we interviewed Dr. Janelle Rahyns about her own experiences leading efforts for NASPA in international student affairs.

Dr. Janelle Rahyns serves as the associate director for global initiatives and virual learning at NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. She supports the association's international initiatives such as NASPA's Global Division, the MENASA Advisory Board, the MENASA NASPA Conference, the Global Summit on Student Affairs and Services, the International Symposium, the International Exchange Program, and assists in the support of the Latin America and the Caribbean Advisory Board. Prior to joining NASPA, Janelle served as the Assistant Dean at Yale-NUS College in Singapore, and the Resident Director at the University of California Los Angeles. Her research interests focus on African American college students, comparative study abroad experiences, international student affairs, and race and ethnicity in study abroad.

Janelle holds a Ph.D. in Social Science & Comparative Education with a concentration in International & Comparative Education from the University of California Los Angeles, an M.Ed in Student Personnel in Higher Education and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Florida.

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Student Affairs Voice from South Africa, W.P. Wahl Mar 09, 2023

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This week on NASPA'a SA Voices From the Field podcast, we interviewed WP Wahl about his own experiences working in South Africa.

Dr W.P. Wahl has been involved in student affairs for 21 years, and currently serves as Director: Student Life at the University of the Free State (UFS), in central South Africa – a position he has occupied since October 2016. During the past two decades he has been involved in numerous transformation projects, involving highly diverse student communities. From 2017 to 2019 Dr Wahl directed, in collaboration with a co-director from the United States, the annual ACUHO-I Student Housing Training Institute in South Africa. During 2021 and 2022 Dr Wahl served as the principal investigator of a national research study on student-centred universities for the Transformation Strategy Group (TSG), Universities South Africa (USAf).

He is well published and his scholarly focus centres around creating campus environments that are conducive to student learning, development and success, especially students hailing from disadvantaged backgrounds. Dr Wahl served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology (JCEP) during 2021 and 2022, as well as editor of the Journal of Student Affairs in Africa (JSAA) for the past seven years. He also supervises Masters and PhD students in the Faculty of Education, UFS. His most recent book, co-authored by Louis H. Falik, (Accommodating Marginalized Students in Higher Education: A Structural Theory Approach) will be published by Routledge in 2023. He is married to Siobhone and is the father of three children; Judah, Joshua and Milcah.

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Student Affairs Voice in Abu Dhabi, Baishakhi Taylor Mar 02, 2023

Show notes

This week on SA Voices From the Field, we interviewed Baishakhi Taylor about her own experiences working in Abu Dhabi, after years working in student affairs within the United States.

Baishakhi Taylor is a member of the University's senior leadership team and oversees the Division of Student Affairs, which comprises the following departments: student life, the career development center, community outreach, spiritual life and intercultural education, the student health center, student success and well-being, and athletics.

Baishakhi holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Kentucky, a master's degree in Women's Studies from the University of Northern Iowa, and master's and bachelor's degrees in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University in Kolkata, India. She is fluent in several languages, including Bangla, Hindi/Urdu, and German.

Prior to joining NYU Abu Dhabi, Taylor served as the Dean of the College at Smith College in Northampton, MA. She oversaw academic advising, international students, student affairs, residential life, student engagement, health and counseling services, athletics, career services, and disability services.

Baishakhi joined Smith College from Middlebury College, where she served as Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, and as Assistant Professor in the Department of Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies. During her tenure at Middlebury, Taylor co-led the Alliance for Inclusive Middlebury, a presidential committee charged with developing a strategic plan for making inclusion a priority for the institution.

Prior to her work at Middlebury, Taylor served as the associate dean of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University and the program director of DukeEngage-Kolkata. She was also a member of the faculty at the Duke Center for South Asian Studies.

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Student Affairs Voice in Singapore, Dave Stanfield Feb 23, 2023

Show notes

This week on SA Voices From the Field, we interviewed Dr. Dave Stanfield about his own experiences working in Singapore, after years working in student affairs within the United States.

Dave Stanfield is Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students at Yale-NUS College in Singapore. Dr. Stanfield oversees residential education, campus life, student services, career services, study abroad, intercultural engagement, and student well-being.

Since joining Yale-NUS in 2019, Dr. Stanfield has engaged deeply with the Yale-NUS student body to enhance student life and create an innovative and distinctive residential curriculum. His leadership of the student affairs team has centered around fostering a sense of belonging for all students, enhancing student support structures, and enabling collaboration across campus units. Dr. Stanfield has extensive student affairs experience in the context of international higher education partnerships, as he also served on Carnegie Mellon University's campus in Doha, Qatar (2006-2011), where he was Director of Student Activities and First-Year Programmes.

While pursuing his Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration, Dr. Stanfield was a research assistant at the Boston College Center for International Higher Education; his research focused on innovative transnational higher education strategies and organizational structures. After completing his doctorate, with an appreciation for the importance of international educational research and assessment, Dr. Stanfield joined the Council of International School (CIS) in Leiden, Netherlands, as Head of Research and Development. He helped develop CIS' International Accreditation protocol and created resources to support member universities in achieving their international student recruitment goals.

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