My Ujima Institute Experience

In August 2022 I received confirmation that I had been accepted into NASPA’s Ujima Institute designed for African American and Black higher education professionals who aspire to senior student affairs officer roles and faculty positions, including the cabinet-level vice president for student affairs positions at colleges and universities.?Filled with excitement and joy, I began to prepare for what I anticipated to be a transformational experience. I was curious about who I was going to meet, their stories, their successes, and their struggles as black higher education professionals.?

My cohort was nothing short of extraordinary, a collection of black excellence from across the US and Canada. 90 individuals were selected out of 200 applicants. Represented were Associate Vice Presidents, Assistant Vice Presidents, Assistant Deans, Directors, Assistant Directors, PhD/EdD students; and their institution types were just as varied – HBCU’s, large public research universities, small private liberal arts colleges, mid-size regional universities, community colleges, faith-based universities, and flagship state universities.

And just as impressive were the facilitators and guest speakers of the program. These people are truly rockstars who ‘showed up and showed’ out covering topics such as The Search Process, Responding and Reacting in Uncertain Times, Integrating a Scholar Identity, The Current State of Higher Education, Politics in Higher Education, Navigating Now, Managing Up, Hitting your Stride, Campus Crisis Management, Showing Up Authentically, Changing Climate for Student Affairs, Coalition Building, and Navigating Governing Boards.?

Although this three-day institute ended last week, it took me some time to reflect on and process my experience. Remember, there is no real learning without reflection.?For all the questions I received about, how was your Ujima experience, and for the ones still to come, I want to share my top 20 takeaways for those considering applying next year, and for my cohort who are still processing.

1.?????Chase the work, not the title. The title will not sustain you.

2.?????You need outlets – these executive jobs come with tremendous amounts of stress. What is your wellness plan? You cannot compromise your well-being.

3.?????Keep your circle tight, not everyone is supposed to understand your journey.?

4.?????The grass might be greener on the other side, but the water bill is higher.

5.?????You must know federal, state, and local issues especially if you want to be a Vice President or President.?

6.?????As you move into a vice presidency or presidency, you cannot think tactically as you did as a director. You must think like a visionary.?

7.?????Don’t aim for a single mountain top, aim to create bridges amongst many mountain tops.

8.?????Do you give yourself enough grace for what you have already done?

9.?????We stand on the shoulder of giants, but one day we will be the shoulders others will stand on.

10.??Know the policy and lean into the policy.?

11.??Having a terminal degree is a political tool that can grant you access, power, and authority when you walk into a room and the decisions you can make.?

12.??You cannot be in the weeds and be responsible for strategy at the same time.?

13.??What are my non-negotiables? What can I control? What is my exit strategy?

14.??It doesn’t just have to be only one. We all can win.

15.??How do we flip the narrative – instead of asking how do we help the HBCU’s, ask, what can we learn from HBCU’s?

16.??We must move away from the system of abuse of low pay with the justification that the work is noble. We are seeing a talent drain because of this. And it is not okay to pay someone with a master’s degree $40k a year for 60+ hours of work and expect them to work nights and weekends, too.?

17.??Sometimes you have to invite yourself to the meeting.

18.??Speak the truth, anticipate discomfort and seek solutions.?

19.??I wear a suit because my melanin requires me to.?

20.??Be the sponsor and mentor you wish you had.

I have always enjoyed the learning process, finding new ways of thinking, and doing so in a team setting.??And this institute reminded me of that. In fact, the word Ujima means?“to build and maintain our community, and make our sisters' and brothers' problems our problems, and solve them together.” Ujima recognizes and respects collective work, struggle and progress. Not to mention, the quality of teaching was fantastic. The vulnerability showed by the instructors gave each of us permission to do the same. They taught with conviction, and leaned into their experiences of hurt, and disappointment yet maintained a focus for better things to come.?

By far the highlight was building relationships with my cohort. These relationships were built on long days and evenings filled with laughter, debate, personal and professional stories of success and disappointment, and hopes and aspirations. To think, I came into this session not knowing a single person to walk away with brothers and sisters across the country is invaluable.?

Simply put, the Ujima Institute re-energized me to keep fighting the good fight and doing so unapologetically.?

If you’re curious to learn more about my experience, please feel free to connect with me. And if you attended the Institute, I welcome you to share your thoughts/experiences in the comments.??

Vaughn

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