Higher education institutions have campus traditions that are honored and repeated by generations of students, faculty, staff, and alumni (Manning, 2000). It is important to understand these traditions and the purpose and history behind the traditions, especially as the demographics of student bodies evolve (Cheng, 2004). According to Boyer (1990), “a university at its best encourages people to share rituals and traditions that connect them to the campus community and that improve the civic culture and diversity of the institution” (p. 62). This study focused on a diverse student sample at Florida State University and their participation in campus traditions. Campus traditions such as Orientation, Convocation, Welcome Week, and Homecoming activities were studied to understand the students’ experiences. Although there has been previous research about campus traditions (Magolda, 2000; Manning, 1989, 2000; Van Jura, 2010), this study specifically focused on a diverse student sample and how the campus traditions create a culturally engaging campus environment (Museus, 2014). / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. / Summer Semester 2017. / July 17, 2017. / Campus Traditions, Engagement, Engaging, Traditions / Includes bibliographical references. / Tamara Bertrand Jones, Professor Directing Dissertation; Diana Rice, University Representative; Kathy Guthrie, Committee Member; Robert Schwartz, Committee Member.

Expanding leadership learning and engagement to a more diverse student body is a critical component of American higher education, yet not enough attention is placed on how varied lived experiences may influence leadership development and practice. One such understudied lived experience is the phenomenon of parental divorce during childhood. Data suggests that over one-quarter of entering college students may have divorced parents, which literature indicates can have ongoing implications over the course of time (Amato, 2000; Demo & Fine, 2010; Kennedy & Ruggles, 2014). Connecting divorce and leadership literature through the relational leadership model (Komives, Lucas, & McMahon, 1998; 2013), this phenomenological study explored how the parental divorce experience during childhood influences female undergraduate student leaders, an understudied population that may thrive in relational leadership settings. Nine undergraduate women enrolled in leadership certificate program courses at a research extensive university in the southern United States were interviewed. Participants reflected upon their parents’ divorce and shared ways they believed it shaped their knowledge, behaviors, and actions. Participants reported how their parents’ divorce influenced their leadership readiness, learning, and engagement as they described and engaged in leadership through the lens of their parental divorce experience. Presenting the parental divorce experience as a leadership context, this study contends relational leadership learning and engagement aids in the development of relational skills. Implications for future research and practice are discussed, including more attention to the parental divorce experience with regards to leadership and higher education. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2018. / May 3, 2018. / Includes bibliographical references. / Kathy L. Guthrie, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jeannine Turner, University Representative; Lara Perez-Felkner, Committee Member; Robert Schwartz, Committee Member.

Student affairs practitioners’ work often includes expectations for leadership education and development of college students, aligning with the role of leadership educator. However, there exists no formal preparation process or curriculum for master’s students in higher education/student affairs graduate preparatory programs to access learning about becoming a leadership educator. This exploratory case study examines the experiences of a cohort of master’s students in a higher education/student affairs graduate preparatory program to understand more fully their access to leadership education communities of practice and their development of leadership educator professional identity. Through survey, document analysis, and semi-structured interviews, the qualitative inquiry explored the integration of a formal, required course for a cohort in their graduate preparatory program to understand the experiences of learning to be leadership educators. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2018. / June 25, 2018. / Higher Education, Leadership education, Leadership educators, Student Affairs / Includes bibliographical references. / Kathy L. Guthrie, Professor Directing Dissertation; Suzanne Sinke, University Representative; Tamara Bertrand Jones, Committee Member; Robert Schwartz, Committee Member.

Since the early 2000s, the number of leadership education programs in the United States has more than doubled (Riggio, Ciulla, & Sorenson, 2003; International Leadership Association, 2015). Despite this proliferation, very little attention has been paid to the role of cultural responsiveness in leadership education. Cultural responsiveness is vital to future success of leadership studies programs because they, just like all higher education, act as cultural capital-building mechanisms. If greater attention is not paid to the experiences of students from diverse backgrounds, leadership studies programs will continue to perpetuate the existing social order, ultimately undermining the goal of creating leaders capable of positive sustainable change. The present study focused on the nexus between cultural responsiveness, leadership education, and cultural capital. It sought to answer the following research questions: (1) What do leadership educators identify as cultural responsiveness in their instruction?; (2) What classroom experiences do leadership students identify as honoring their multiple, intersecting social identities?; (3) Where do reports of cultural responsiveness among leadership studies instructors and students converge, and where do they diverge? Answering the first research question required semi-structured interviews with leadership instructors to uncover their efforts toward cultural responsiveness. This information was used to create a survey to gauge student experiences along the aspects described in the interviews. The second research question was addressed through descriptive quantitative analysis of survey data. The final question was answered through inferential quantitative analysis of survey information. Findings and results uncovered substantial evidence of cultural responsiveness within the leadership studies program under investigation. Instructors’ social identities, personal histories, professional preparation, and academic training impacted their cultural responsiveness abilities. Similarly, nuanced leadership education philosophies, unique motivations, and varied paths to leadership education impacted how instructors approached students’ cultural and academic development. Course syllabi, textbooks, assignments, and speakers were just some of the ways instructors infused cultural responsiveness into their distinctive styles of leadership education. Moreover, a broad spectrum of pedagogical choices characterized instructors’ capacity for cultural responsiveness. Augmented by the theory-to-practice-to-theory framework of the Undergraduate Certificate in Leadership Studies, instructors were empowered to teach and change courses toward cultural responsiveness. The survey resulting from instructors’ reports demonstrated reliability and validity for use in the present study and captured students’ perceptions of cultural responsiveness. Results of quantitative analyses indicated students perceived their instructors as culturally responsive across numerous facets of education. Perceptions varied by student identities and among the courses in which they were enrolled. Future research should focus on intersections of social identities, the unique experiences of transfer students, and supporting courses not included here. Practice implications include careful consideration of cultural responsiveness among students from diverse religious backgrounds, transfer students and nontraditionally aged students. Curricular implications should include focusing on the culturally responsive leadership learning environments created in Leadership in Group and Communities, Latinx Leadership, and Peer Leadership. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2018. / February 14, 2018. / Culture, Diversity, Education, Inclusion, Leadership, Multiculturalism / Includes bibliographical references. / Kathy L. Guthrie, Professor Directing Dissertation; Irene Padavic, University Representative; Tamara Bertrand Jones, Committee Member; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member.

Although postsecondary institutions have been charged with serving the public good by expanding opportunity for racial minority and low-income students, over the past few decades, state funding has shrunk while the price students pay for a credential has continuously increased. For those students who do cross the stage at commencement, they are donating record-breaking amounts of money to their alma maters annually. However, the impact of private financial support for a public entity serving a public good remains an unexplored domain. Through a blended sociological and economic conceptual framework based on work from Perna (2006) this study employed ordinary least squared and fixed effects regression models for a sample of 87 public and 198 private four-year institutions. Using a modified variability measure based on work by Chang (1996, 1999), results indicated a negative relationship between institutional diversity and the Whiteness of an institution’s alumni as well as the percent of alumni who made a financial contribution to their alma mater. However, the adjusted dollar amount of gifts from alumni (controlled by enrollment) showed a positive relationship with the institution’s diversity. As an exploratory study, this research provides a foundation through a conceptual framework, diversity measures, and results for further testing the relationship between private giving to a public good oft thought to be the responsibility of funding by tax payers. While the institutions in the sample were shown to expand access and opportunity, gaps remain between the diversity of the freshmen class and the graduating class as well as between institutions who benefit the most from their alumni support and those who face limited financial resources all around. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2018. / July 12, 2018. / Education policy, Higher education, Public policy / Includes bibliographical references. / Shouping Hu, Professor Directing Dissertation; Frances S. Berry, University Representative; Toby J. Park, Committee Member; Lara Christina Perez-Felkner, Committee Member; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 31-10, Section: A, page: 5150. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1970.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 30-09, Section: A, page: 3745. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1969.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 30-09, Section: A, page: 3747. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1969.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 32-04, Section: A, page: 1880. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1971.

The purpose of the study was to determine and compare the awareness of community college presidents and trustees regarding selected legal and otherwise designated responsibilities of presidents, boards of trustees and the State Community College Coordinating Board in Florida and to identify the information sources which influence the respondent groups. / Data were gathered using a four part survey questionnaire designed for this study and mailed to 197 trustees and 28 presidents of community colleges in Florida. Sixty-eight percent of the population responded to the questionnaire. Responses were analyzed using SPSS packaged programs which provided means and percentages as well as t tests for determining differences (p > .05). / Principle findings included the following: both respondent groups were generally aware of and in agreement regarding the responsibilities of presidents and trustees but not the State Community College Coordinating Board; presidents were more aware of the responsibilities of trustees than were trustees themselves; both respondent groups perceived the responsibilities of boards of trustees to be well defined in law but did not perceive the responsibilities of the State Community College Coordinating Board to be well defined in law; both respondent groups agreed that the State Community College Coordinating Board should be responsible for coordinating legislative activities but presidents were, and should be responsible for participating in those activities; the information sources rated most influential by presidents and trustees were very similar and included administrators, state statutes, trustees, faculty, students, and community/constituent groups. State and national media were rated as low in influence. There was no significant difference in the mean responses of presidents and trustees to 59 of the 77 items in Section I of the questionnaire. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-12, Section: A, page: 3823. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.