A Higher Calling: Toward a More Spacious Role for Academic Advisors

Good afternoon, everyone. It is my honor and privilege to introduce an amazing, passionate woman and professor emerita from the University of Texas at San Antonio, Dr. Laura Rendón. Dr. Rendón is nationally recognized as an education theorist, activist, and researcher who specializes in college preparation, persistence, and graduation of low-income, first-generation students. She is a native of Laredo, TX. Her passion is assisting students who, like her, grew up in poverty with hopes and dreams but not knowing how to realize them. She is credited with developing the theory of validation, which colleges and researchers have employed as a framework for working with and affirming low-income students. Dr. Rendón is a teaching and learning philosopher and thought leader. She authored a book where she developed a pedagogic framework called Sentipensante (Sensing/Thinking) Pedagogy that emphasizes intellectual, social, emotional, and spiritual student development, along with social activism. She is an active scholar whose research has been published in key education research journals. Dr. Rendón is the coeditor of several books and monographs, including Transforming the First Year of College for Students of Color, Educating a New Majority, Introduction to American Higher Education, and Race and Ethnicity: Ethnic Diversity in Higher Education ASHE Reader. Formerly, Dr. Rendón was codirector of the Center of Research and Policy in Education at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she engaged in research that informs the education community about critical factors that affect the academic success of key student groups. She is also one of the founders and former board chair of the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships focused on providing access to college for low-income students. She has served on the Board of Trustees at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Rendón is a fellow of the Mind and Life Institute and serves on the Board of Directors for the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education. Keynote by Dr. Rendón I’ll begin by saying a little bit about how I enter this inquiry regarding academic advising and its role in fostering student success, especially for vulnerable student populations. I am a border woman who was born along the U.S.-Mexico border in Laredo, TX. My first language was Spanish. I am a first-generation college student from a family where no one had attended college before me. Here is a picture of me on my sixth birthday. To the right is my little sister, Ileana, and to my left is my cousin, Elma. Behind us you can see an old, run-down house where we used to live. Certainly, those were extremely tough times. Growing up in poverty really impacts your life, but I’ve never forgotten my early beginnings. I’ve never forgotten the fact that there are so many students in dire circumstances even today, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic. One thing we’ve learned during this remarkable time of the pandemic is that we are transitioning to a new normal, a normality that we are actually creating together. While this new context has a significant number of challenges, the time also carries great possibilities. As advisors who are interested in the success of all students, we have to really look at our role in terms of what’s coming up next in higher education. What do advisors need to understand in order to work with vulnerable student populations? What constitutes a more spacious view of academic advising?