Growing New Leaders in Higher Ed

Ayala and Vega have worked on creating a program intentionally broad to provide graduates with a path to a variety of higher ed careers. “When you look at other higher education programs, they tend to have an emphasis on student affairs,” Ayala says. “Student affairs is just one umbrella in higher education, and those positions tend to be more of the student-facing roles. Our program prepares graduates to work in all types of administrative departments – crunching numbers, recruiting students, running reports or working with faculty.”

Truitt says the range of learning experiences, especially classes in crisis management, educational law and group dynamics, “have all proven to be crucial skills during this unique time in higher education.”

Coming to Montclair State as an undergraduate, Truitt had his sights on a career in education. “My whole life, the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do is be a teacher and work in education. That has never changed. But I think my framing of what it means to be a teacher changed at Montclair State and it allowed me to understand that you don’t necessarily have to be at the front of a classroom to teach. You can model behaviors, be an informal mentor – it takes on many shapes and forms. Throughout my various roles in higher ed at Montclair, I had opportunities to do just that.”

Vega spent 16 years in administrative roles in higher ed, including financial aid counseling and opportunity programs before coming to Montclair State. Her scholarship focuses on equity, access and success in higher education among underserved populations.

Higher education has historically been an important bridge to opportunity, but the vestiges of segregation, costs, access to financial aid and other obstacles have hurt the ability of all students to participate fully, Vega says. The immense changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic only sharpens the focus on those inequities.

“As higher education administrators, as students come on campus or as we see them on computer screens, we have to see them for who they are and how it impacts their learning,” Vega says.

Leadership and theory are the cornerstone to a final capstone project, Ayala says. “Students develop a new initiative or look at data to suggest new ideas for various high ed departments.” Montclair State has relationships with 10 different higher ed institutions that provide the practical experiences. Projects have included looking at students with autism, undocumented students, parent engagement and success of first generation students, and planning for online orientation.

Ledawn Hall ’19 MA examined the experiences of ESL students at community college. “Education is a right, but I treat it like a privilege, constantly reminding myself that there are those individuals in the world who may never get the educational opportunity that I have,” says Hall, director of a study program at Essex County College that focuses on retention and graduation.

Montclair State’s existing program has graduated 97 students since beginning in 2015 who now serve in important roles in academic affairs, student affairs and other administrative positions at institutions including Princeton University, New York University, Fordham University, Pace University, Penn State University and Montclair State University.

Lucas Min ’18 MA is currently working at NYU Abu Dhabi in charge of undergraduate housing for international students from more than 150 different countries. Min came to study higher education leadership through the lens of sustainability. “The work that I did and am still continuing to do incorporates sustainable efforts that can inform people that we can be more thoughtful of our resources while we perform our day-to-day,” he says.