Events
2025 ACPA/ASHE PRESIDENTIAL SYMPOSIUM
26 SEPTEMBER 2025 • 12:00pm-4:00pm ET
Imagining the Path Forward: History, Mentorship and Critical Hope in Higher Education
The 2025 ACPA-ASHE Presidential Symposium offers a space to reflect on the complexities of the current moment in higher education while envisioning new possibilities for the future. Grounded in historical context, the event invites participants to interrogate long-standing norms and practices, explore alternative approaches to engaging with the academy, and elevate creativity, innovation, mentorship, community, and Critical Hope as essential foundations for self-care and the future of higher education. Rather than offering quick fixes or one-size-fits-all solutions, this gathering encourages deep questioning and collective imagination to address systemic challenges through courageous leadership and transformative action.
Organized and facilitated by ACPA President Jonathan A. McElderry and ASHE President Eboni Zamani-Gallaher, the 8th Annual Presidential Symposium brings together scholars and practitioners to reflect on the moment.
HOW TO ENGAGE with the presidential symposium
We invite higher education/student affairs graduate programs, student affairs divisions, and other campus departments to gather to watch the session together. Discounted group registration is available.
Individuals are also able to watch the session on their own.
Between each panel will be time for individual reflection through a PDF workbook provided to attendees.
Who should attend?
Educators who have an interest in engaging racial justice and decolonization pedagogical practices to enhance college student development and leadership. This includes but is not limited to:
- Faculty from all disciplines–tenured, tenure-track, and clinical faculty welcome.
- Graduate students with teaching responsibilities.
- Higher Education/Student Affairs practitioners with teaching responsibilities.
In addition to participating in the Fall Faculty Institute, the Faculty Institute planning team encourages attendees to participate in the virtual ACPA-ASHE Presidential Symposium on Friday, 26 September 2025, 12:00-4:00pm ET/9:00am-1:00pm PT. The ACPA-ASHE Presidential Symposium offers both individual and group registration options!
Symposium Panelists
Jonathan A. McElderry, Ph.D.
he/him
Dr. Jonathan A. McElderry is a nationally recognized scholar and higher education leader focused on equity and student success. He serves as Dean of Student Inclusive Excellence & Assistant Professor at Elon University and serves as the 86th President of ACPA. A first-generation college graduate, his research centers historically marginalized students and includes over 15 publications and two co-edited books.
Eboni M. Zamani-Gallaher Ph.D.
she/her
Dr. Eboni M. Zamani-Gallaher began her tenure as the Renée and Richard Goldman Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Education on May 1, 2024. An accomplished scholar, her work focuses on equitable participation in higher education; transfer, access, and retention policies; minoritized student populations in marginalized institutional contexts; and racial equity and campus climate in postsecondary education pathways.
Johnnie Allen Jr.
he/him
Johnnie L. Allen Jr. (he/him) is a Ph.D. candidate at Florida State University studying Black men’s leadership and masculinities at HBCUs. He teaches in the Leadership Learning Research Center and was a fellow with Howard University’s Center for HBCU Research and Project M.A.L.E.S. He is currently an ACPA Presidential Intern.
Sonja Ardoin, Ph.D.
she/her
Dr. Sonja Ardoin is a learner, educator, facilitator, and author. A scholar-practitioner of higher education, she served as an administrator for 10 years before shifting to the faculty. Sonja currently serves as an associate professor at Clemson. She studies social class, rurality, and first-generation college students, among other topics.
Cameron C. Beatty, Ph.D.
he/him
Dr. Cameron C. Beatty is an associate professor at Florida State University and a member-at-large on the ASHE Board of Directors. His research focuses on leadership development for Students of Color, racial battle fatigue, and liberatory pedagogy. He is also a 2024–25 UC Free Speech and Civic Engagement Fellow.
Gloria Crisp, Ed.D.
she/her
Dr. Crisp is a Professor of Adult and Higher Education and Associate Dean for the College of Education at Oregon State University. Gloria is deeply committed to mentoring and supporting students and faculty. She received the Mentoring Award from ASHE in 2020.
Denise Henning, Ph.D.
she/her
Dr. Denise K. Henning, a Cherokee and Mississippi Choctaw scholar, leads with relational Indigenous values, championing inclusive leadership and culturally responsive education. With over 32 years in higher education across three countries, she fosters equity, systemic change, and intergenerational empowerment through appreciative inquiry, Indigenous knowledge, and strengths-based leadership.
Aja C. Holmes, Ph.D.
she/her
Dr. Aja C. Holmes is the Assistant Dean of Students at USF with over 20 years in student affairs. Her expertise includes supervision development, journal editorial board service, and curriculum design. She is active in ACPA, NASPA, WACUHO, and a dedicated Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. member since 2001.
Judy Marquez Kiyama, Ph.D.
she/her
Dr. Judy Marquez Kiyama is a professor in the Center for the Study of Higher Education, Department of Educational Policy Studies and Practice, at the University of Arizona. Dr. Kiyama is a community-engaged scholar with nearly 25 years experience in research, practice, and administration.
Z Nicolazzo, Ph.D.
she/her
Dr. Z Nicolazzo is a Professor of Trans* Studies in Education and Interim Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs in the College of Education at the University of Arizona. She is also the Executive Editor of About Campus, ACPA’s scholarly magazine.
Andre M. Perry
he/him
Andre M. Perry is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Community Uplift at the Brookings Institution. Perry is the author of the book “Black Power Scorecard: Measuring the Racial Gap and What We Can Do to Close It,” published by Henry Holt.
Christa J. Porter, Ph.D.
she/her
Dr. Christa J. Porter is Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. As a leader and scholar, Christa’s praxis is grounded in Black feminist onto-epistemologies. She received national distinction as an ACPA Senior Scholar and recipient of the ASHE Mentoring Award.
Stephanie Hernandez Rivera, Ph.D.
she/her
Dr. Stephanie Hernandez Rivera is an assistant professor in the Master of Arts in Higher Education program at Elon University, and the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education Emerging Scholar. Guided by Women of Color feminisms, her scholarship focuses on uplifting the resistance work of marginalized peoples in education.
Stephen Santa-Ramirez, Ph.D.
he/him
Dr. Stephen Santa-Ramirez is an associate professor at the University at Buffalo and co-chair of the ACPA Latinx Network. His research centers on historically marginalized students and equity in higher education. He uses critical and student-centered frameworks to explore racial campus climates, belonging, student activism, and underrepresented students’ experiences.
Heather D. Shea, Ph.D.
she/her
Dr. Heather Shea envisions higher education as a catalyst for justice and transformation. As Director of Pathways Persistence Programs at Michigan State University, former ACPA President, and Foundation Trustee, she cultivates spaces of critical hope, feminist leadership, and student-led change. She also co-hosts the Student Affairs NOW podcast at studentaffairsnow.com.
Registration Information
Registrations can be paid by check, VISA, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express. All fees must be prepaid. Purchase orders are not accepted. Refunds will be given for cancellations, received in writing at ACPA by 22 August 2025. Registrations can also be withdrawn by registrants using the event registration system through 22 August 2025. After 22 August 2025, there are no refunds. ACPA & ASHE reserve the right to charge a service fee of US$50 for returned checks. Registrations are non-transferable. The symposium may be canceled or postponed due to insufficient enrollment or other unforeseen circumstances. In this case, the fees will be fully refunded; however, ACPA will not be responsible for other additional costs incurred by registrants.
In order to qualify for member rates for the ACPA/ASHE Presidential Symposium, membership with ACPA or ASHE must be valid through 26 September 2025. You must have your own individual membership. ACPA or ASHE Members who purchase a Presidential Symposium Registration understand their membership needs to be active through 26 September 2025. If it is not active prior to the start of the Presidential Symposium you will not be provided with your Presidential Symposium access link unless you renew your membership or pay the difference between the non-member and member registration cost.
Schedule-at-a-Glance
- Welcome and Opening Remarks from ACPA President Jonathan McElderry and ASHE President Eboni Zamani-Gallaher
- Higher Education Context Panel Discussion
- Individual or Group Work Time
- Coloring Outside the Lines Panel
- Individual or Group Work Time
- Mentoring & Community-Driven Solutions Panel Discussion
- Individual or Group Work Time
- Critical Hope in this Moment Panel
- Symposium Closing
Origins of the presidential symposium
The first ACPA-ASHE Presidential Symposium was held in 2018 under the leadership of Dr. Stephen John Quaye, Dr. Lori Patton Davis, and Dr. Shaun R. Harper. The symposium was held both virtually and in-person at the University of Southern California campus and was titled, ‘Presidential Symposium on Racism, Recovery, and Racial Justice in Higher Education.’ We are grateful for their ideas, labor, and leadership in establishing this event.
