2020 Most Promising Places to Work in Student Affairs

Now in its 7th year, Most Promising Places to Work in Student Affairs (MPPWSA) is a national recognition that celebrates student affairs workplaces that are vibrant, diverse, supportive and commited to staff work-life balance, professional development and inclusive excellence. MPPWSA offers intitutional leaders information that can be used to improve practices across their student affairs community, while also serving as a useful tool for employers, career services staff and job-seekers across the country.

Other Years

2024 2023 2022 2021 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014

Institution	Senior Student Affairs Officer	Location	Level	Control
Davidson College	Dr. Byron P. McCrae	Davidson, NC	4-year	private
University of California-Santa Barbara	Jill Hurd	Santa Barbara, CA	4-year	public
University of West Georgia	Dr. Xavier Whitaker	Carrollton, GA	4-year	public
Rochester Institute of Technology	Dr. Sandra Johnson	Rochester, NY	4-year	private
Samuel Merritt University	Dr. Terry Nordstrom	Oakland, CA	4-year	private
Indiana State University	Dr. Andy Morgan	Terre Haute, IN	4-year	public
University of Florida	Dr. Winfred Phillips	Gainesville, FL	4-year	public
University of North Carolina-Wilmington	Patricia Leonard	Wilmington, NC	4-year	public
Miami University-Oxford	Dr. Jayne Brownell	Oxford, OH	4-year	public
Bowling Green State University	Dr. Thomas Gibson	Bowling Green, OH	4-year	public
Pennsylvania College of Technology	Dr. Elliot Strickland	Williamsport, PA	4-year	public
University of Vermont	Dr. Annie Stevens	Burlington, VT	4-year	public
Ohio University Athens	Dr. Jason Pina	Athens, OH	4-year	public
The State U. of New York-College at Geneseo	Dr. David G. Braverman	Geneseo, NY	4-year	public
Rutgers University-New Brunswick	Dr. Salvador Mena	New Brunswick, NJ	4-year	public
College of William & Mary	Dr. Virginia Ambler	Williamsburg, VA	4-year	public
Sonoma State University	Dr. Wm. Gregory Sawyer	Rohnert Park, CA	4-year	public
California State University-Channel Islands	Dr. Richard Yao	Camarillo, CA	4-year	public
Saint Louis University	Dr. Kent Porterfield	St. Louis, MO	4-year	private
Lehigh University	Dr. Ricardo Hall	Bethlehem, PA	4-year	private
California Polytechnic State U.-San Luis Obispo	Dr. Keith Humphrey	San Luis Obispo, CA	4-year	public
Case Western Reserve University	Louis W. Stark	Cleveland, OH	4-year	private
Texas A&M University-San Antonio	Dr. Melissa Mahan	San Antonio, TX	4-year	public
The Ohio State University-Columbus	Dr. Melissa Shivers	Columbus, OH	4-year	public
University of Maryland-Baltimore	Dr. Patty Alvarez	Baltimore, MD	4-year	public
West Chester University of Pennsylvania	Dr. Zebulun Davenport	West Chester, PA	4-year	public
Virgina Tech	Dr. Frank Shushok	Blacksburg, VA	4-year	public

ABOUT THE STUDY

This study was first proposed by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education as a possible partnership with the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) in 2011. The ACPA Governing Board motioned for the then-Director of Research and Scholarship, Dr. Terrell Strayhorn, to explore the merit and extent of this project. With input from a volunteer advisory board, the project was recommended to the Governing Board and approved.

Dr. Strayhorn was commissioned by ACPA and Diverse: Issues In Higher Education to serve as the project’s principal investigator. In this role, Strayhorn developed the Most Promising Places to Work in Student Affairs (MPPWSA) Survey in consultation with experts on the project’s advisory board. The original survey was pilot-tested with a small sample of non-ACPA member institutions; feedback from the pilottest helped to clarify survey items, correct logic sequencing and determine the utility of our scoring algorithm.

The purpose of this commissioned study, was to examine the extent to which diversity and inclusion permeate aspects of various divisions of student affairs (or equivalent) at participating ACPA-member institutions across the globe including administrative structures, commitments, work environments and staffing practices.

ABOUT THE SURVEY

The MPPWSA survey consists of approximately 60 items, organized into 10 major sections. For example, one section elicits contact information for the survey respondent and identifying information about their respective institution (e.g., control, minority-serving institution [MSI] status). Another section includes several items to assess the structural diversity of the institution and student aff airs department in terms of gender, race, sexual orientation and disability status. There are several sections that measure the availability and extent of support services provided to student aff airs staff on campus, such as professional development.

The survey was authored by Terrell Strayhorn, with input from experts on the project advisory board, and is not available in the public domain. Now part of the larger project, Most Promising Places to Work, the survey has been administered by Strayhorn and his teams at various centers, Do Good Work Educational Consulting LLC, and in 2019 by a paid external consultant hired by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education. All survey rights belong to the author. All analyses presented in this edition were conducted by Terrell Strayhorn and Royel Johnson.

PROMISING PRACTICES

Building on the success of previous years, we are excited to include a set of “promising practices” in this year’s report for Most Promising Places to Work in Student Aff airs 2020. As the MPPWSA project matures each year, we learn more and more about what’s going on at various institutions to increase staff diversity, to foster a sense of belonging and to equip college student educators for their work with students. In previous editions of Diverse, we shared practices that hold promise for achieving the outcomes we desire with student aff airs staff; this year, we present the growing list of promising practices.

STAFF PROFILE

Institution	# Full Time Staff	# Part Time Staff	50% Female	30% Ethnic Minority	5% LGBT Staff	5% Staff with Disabilities	Average Salary Senior	Average Salary Mid-Level	Average Salary Entry-Level
Davidson College	70	25	YES	NO	YES	NO	$93,000	$70,000	$50,000
University of California-Santa Barbara	63	0	NO	YES	YES	YES	$150,000	$95,000	$63,000
University of West Georgia	191	767	YES	YES	YES	NO	$120,000	$58,000	$38,000
Rochester Institute of Technology	257	150	YES	NO	N/R	N/R	$140,000	$95,000	$54,000
Samuel Merritt University	47	2	NO	NO	YES	NO	$120,000	$90,000	$60,000
Indiana State University	150	400	YES	YES	YES	NO	$60,000	$50,000	$40,000
University of Florida	675	1709	YES	YES	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R
University of North Carolina-Wilmington	169	11	YES	NO	NO	NO	$100,000	$80,000	$50,000
Miami University-Oxford	102	20	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R	$92,000	$60,000	$42,000
Bowling Green State University	90	5	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R	$109,000	$55,000	$42,000
Pennsylvania College of Technology	124	279	YES	NO	NO	YES	$89,000	$63,000	$52,000
University of Vermont	230	6	YES	NO	YES	YES	$100,000	$75,000	$40,000
Ohio University Athens	360	12	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R	$107,000	$73,000	$46,000
The State U. of New York-College at Geneseo	125	5	YES	YES	YES	YES	$75,000	$55,000	$45,000
Rutgers University-New Brunswick	1200	80	YES	YES	YES	YES	$130,000	$85,000	$60,000
College of William & Mary	119	31	YES	NO	NO	N/R	$121,000	$64,000	$44,000
Sonoma State University	135	81	YES	YES	YES	N/R	$118,000	$86,000	$62,000
California State University-Channel Islands	93	2	YES	N/R	N/R	N/R	$106,000	$71,000	$60,000
Saint Louis University	152	30	YES	NO	N/R	YES	$140,000	$70,000	$40,000
Lehigh University	74	1	YES	NO	N/R	N/R	$111,000	$79,000	$49,000
California Polytechnic State U.-San Luis Obispo	460	89	YES	N/R	N/R	N/R	$178,000	$77,000	$55,000
Case Western Reserve University	160	4	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R
Texas A&M University-San Antonio	48	3	YES	YES	YES	N/R	$75,000	$51,000	$42,000
The Ohio State University-Columbus	1135	5254	NO	YES	N/R	N/R	$13,000	$73,000	$48,000
University of Maryland-Baltimore	54	173	YES	YES	YES	NO	$92,000	$71,000	$57,000
West Chester University of Pennsylvania	149	28	YES	NO	NO	NO	$106,000	$69,000	$47,000
Virgina Tech	831	2983	YES	NO	N/R	NO	$136,000	$58,000	$45,000

DIVERSITY BENEFITS

Institution	Cargiving Leave For All	Childcare Services	Continuing Ed	Ed Leave	Elder Care Services	Flexible Work Schedule	Mentoring	Stress Reduction Program
Davidson College	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES
University of California-Santa Barbara	YES	YES	NO	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES
University of West Georgia	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES
Rochester Institute of Technology	YES	YES	YES	NO	NO	YES	NO	YES
Samuel Merritt University	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	YES
Indiana State University	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	YES
University of Florida	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES
University of North Carolina-Wilmington	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES
Miami University-Oxford	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Bowling Green State University	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	NO	YES
Pennsylvania College of Technology	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES
University of Vermont	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES
Ohio University Athens	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
The State U. of New York-College at Geneseo	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES
Rutgers University-New Brunswick	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES
College of William & Mary	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES
Sonoma State University	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES
California State University-Channel Islands	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES
Saint Louis University	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES
Lehigh University	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	YES
California Polytechnic State U.-San Luis Obispo	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	YES
Case Western Reserve University	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES
Texas A&M University-San Antonio	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	NO
The Ohio State University-Columbus	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES
University of Maryland-Baltimore	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES
West Chester University of Pennsylvania	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES
Virgina Tech	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES