Varying Viewpoints

Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute

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Education

The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice is proud to present the “Varying Viewpoints” podcast. Our podcast series highlights recent and relevant work of emerging and established scholars and provides an engaging way to share innovative scholarship that focuses on diversifying leadership, enhancing equity, and fostering justice in higher education.

Sep 28

Episode 92: Homecoming Through the Eyes of an HBCU President

Returning with a new episode from the HBCU Homecoming Series, Leslie Ekpe interviews Jermaine Whirl, President of Savannah State University, about his perspectives on HBCU homecomings. Ekpe and Whirl discuss the importance of homecomings and their role at HBCUs and beyond. Listen as they discuss the significance of homecoming for students and alumni, the different programming, and how organizations like Nike and Home Depot are giving back to HBCU students.
Aug 10

Episode 91: Preserving Black Educational Histories

The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice is proud to present another episode of the “Varying Viewpoints” podcast. In an interview led by Harvey Long, 2026 John Smartt Summer Scholar, and featuring Marlee S. Bunch, Senior Research Associate with the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity & Justice at Rutgers University, they discuss her latest book, Unlearning the Hush. Drawing on the rich tradition of Black memory work, the book features oral histories of Black women educators who taught in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, before and after school desegregation. Together, they explore the power of memory, storytelling, and oral history to preserve hidden histories and deepen our understanding of Black educational experiences. Listen as they discuss the importance of oral history and Black memory work in documenting and preserving the lived experiences of Black educators.
Aug 3

Episode 90: Social Mobility in the Job Market: Exploring How HSIs Enable Workforce

The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice is proud to present another episode of the “Varying Viewpoints” podcast. In an interview led by Monica Hernandez, 2026 John Smartt Summer Scholar, featuring Mario Vela, Assistant Vice Provost and Executive Director at the University of Texas at San Antonio’s University Career Center, they explore the role of Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) in building workforce pathways for students. Through a discussion of organizational strategies, career readiness, and employer partnerships, they highlight how HSIs are positioned to support the career development of Latinx students and how they access the labor market. Listen as they examine the organizational strategies and practices that HSIs employ (or can employ) to support job-market readiness, particularly for first-generation Latinx students who largely attend these institutions.
Jul 27

Episode 89: Cultivating Research Capacity At Student-Centered

The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice is proud to present another episode of the “Varying Viewpoints” podcast. This episode explores how institutions that serve large undergraduate populations, and often those who fall into historically marginalized categories, strengthen their research enterprises. In an interview led by Kailyn Gilliam, 2026 John Smartt Summer Scholar, featuring Sherine Obare, the Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement at UNC Greensboro (UNCG), they discuss Obare’s efforts to cultivate research capacity at an institution with nearly 75% undergraduate enrollment and close to 50% Pell-eligible students, while maintaining focus on the institution’s student-centered missions. Obare approaches this work as a faculty-researcher, a mentor, a former dean of an institutional partnership between two different Minority Serving Institutions, and as the Director of Broadening Participation for a National Science Foundation convergence-research center. Her extensive experience in this space enables her to offer an expert perspective on the components of a successful institutional research environment, including faculty development, student engagement, and strategic partnerships. The most distinctive element of institutions like UNCG is their focus on undergraduate students; therefore, this podcast focuses on the role of undergraduate research opportunities as a bridge to develop student potential and achieve institutional goals. Listen as this episode celebrates the uniqueness of student-centered institutions and the significant contributions they bring toward the area of broadening participation in research experiences for all students, especially those historically-excluded. Through an open and honest conversation, this episode uncovers the realities, in both the successes and the opportunities for growth, around building research infrastructure from a current higher-education research administrator.
Jun 29

Episode 88: MSI Faculty Are ELEVATING

In this episode of Varying Viewpoints, Leslie Ekpe sits down with 3 ELEVATE fellows from this year’s cohort to engage in dialogue about their experiences during the ELEVATE program, in which early-career MSI faculty discussed the challenges, opportunities, and resources involved in navigating their tenure-track journeys. Listen as they discuss the opportunities the program offers fellows and their individual future academic goals.
May 26

Episode 87: How to Pitch Your Ideas

In this episode of Varying Viewpoints, we sit down with Kira Matthews—known as “Kira the Bold”—to talk about what it really takes to turn ideas into opportunities. Kira is a UK-based coach and speaker who has built her work around helping people move past self-doubt to learn how to pitch themselves with clarity and confidence. Whether that’s pitching for brand partnerships or building thriving businesses online. Her fun, high-vibe energy is a hallmark of her practical, results-focused approach to coaching, which uses mindset tools with real-life and business applications. Listen as we discuss how to pitch your ideas with confidence and make the most of the resources available to you.
May 8

Episode 86: Recruiting for Mission: How HBCUs Compete for Talent

Historically Black Colleges and Universities have long been essential to producing Black scholars and leaders yet they continue to face an uneven playing field when it comes to recruiting and keeping faculty. Today, HBCUs often hire professors trained at large research universities, while their own graduates are less likely to land those same kinds of positions. This gap raises real questions about fairness, opportunity, and what it takes for HBCUs to grow and thrive in a system that wasn't always designed with them in mind. In this episode, we discuss findings from The Pipeline Paradox, a national study of faculty hiring and placement at research-intensive HBCUs. The research reveals a striking pattern in how academic careers are shaped and who gets to move up. The conversation explores why these patterns matter and what leaders and policymakers can do to change them. While this research focuses specifically on HBCUs, its implications reach across higher education. When institutions that serve the most underrepresented communities are strengthened, the entire academic ecosystem benefits. Listen for data-driven insights on faculty hiring, honest conversations about structural barriers in academia, and practical steps that institutional leaders and policymakers can take to build stronger, more equitable faculty pipelines now and in the years ahead.
May 1

Episode 85: The Illusion of Neutrality

The mental health system is still falling short for many people. Despite years of diversity efforts, too many communities of color continue to be underserved, misunderstood, and overlooked. Outdated assumptions about what "normal" or "objective" care looks like have gone unchallenged for too long and the gap between what institutions promise and what people actually experience has never been clearer. In this episode, we spoke with Norman H. Kim about his recent anthology, Anti Blackness and the Stories of Authentic Allies (Oxford University Press, 2024), which examines how the myth of clinical "neutrality" and so-called color-blind practice can reinforce anti-Blackness and other structural inequities in mental health. As the inaugural DEI Officer at Columbia University's Center for Practice Innovations, Kim brings together research and lived experience to illuminate what liberation-informed, culturally responsive care looks like in real clinical and institutional settings. Listen for a candid examination of what authentic allyship looks like in practice, tools for shifting clinical language and decision-making toward justice-rooted approaches.

The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice is proud to present the “Varying Viewpoints” podcast. Our podcast series highlights recent and relevant work of emerging and established scholars and provides an engaging way to share innovative scholarship that focuses on diversifying leadership, enhancing equity, and fostering justice in higher education.

Creator

Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute
Years Active

2022 - 2026
Episodes

92
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© All rights reserved
Show Website

Varying Viewpoints