Nature of Student Affairs Work at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, The

Journal of College Student Development, Nov/Dec 2006 by Hirt, Joan B, Strayhorn, Terrell L, Amelink, Catherine T, Bennett, Belinda R

Work Environment

Resources, or the lack thereof, also led student affairs administrators at HBCUs to describe their work environment in certain ways. Their work environment is practical, highly professional, student-centered, and service-oriented. Eighty-three percent of respondents described their work environment as practical. The following quote unpacks the meaning of this theme:

And I think at most times we've got to weigh it. And what is the most appropriate practical way of getting this done? What's the urgency right now? We may have planned well on something, but something may not have come through. We've got to be practical and realistic resourcewise in terms of what are the human resources that we have to get something implemented. What are the fiscal resources? So I think practical enables us to be fair about our business, about our mission as a university, and about our objectives here in the office. I mean, some of these others I think we do, but I think in most cases we're being more practical than anything else.

Although they may consider their work more practical than theoretical, administrators (71%) believed it is their duty to handle their responsibilities in a highly professional manner.

I think it requires-and again this is why I get into this issue around how you're defining professionalism-for me, it requires a great deal of administrative skill to function in this particular context. I would define that in terms of professionalism. In other words, in my role in particular, one HAS to be constantly aware of not only the political dynamics that are going on, but also-you know, everything from putting things in writing to making sure that there's appropriate follow-up around certain issues. So I'd call it "highly professional" in terms of most of my space.

At [said university] I do a professional parent orientation. And the positive feedback has also produced a newsletter that I do for the entire year, first year, so they get information about what's going on. Because of course freshmen tend to tell you a whole different ballgame than what's going on campus. So I kind of give them a real picture. And the positive thing is that I have embraced a lot of parents, or a lot of parents have embraced the university and getting involved in what their child is doing that first year.

The pragmatic nature of their work, coupled with the pride they take in their professional endeavors, led the vast majority of respondents to describe their work environment as student centered (70%) and service oriented (70%). This is another element of professional life for HBCU administrators that is distinct from professional matters at other types of institutions. Almost without exception, individuals talked about devoting themselves to students. This is particularly telling given that 71% of respondents were midlevel (31%) or cabinet level (40%) administrators. At other institutions, direct service to students diminishes as level of responsibility grows. Not so at HBCUs: