Conclusion

Abstract

Within higher education the employees most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic were student affairs practitioners. While it can be argued that student affairs (SA) professionals were already devalued in the academy in ways that prioritize teaching and research over advising, counseling, and supporting students, during the COVID-19 shutdown, it was often SA professionals that were required to come to campus at great risk to themselves and their communities while faculty stayed home in quarantine. SA staff were often overtaxed, overburdened, yet lacked the job stability to speak up without fear of reprisal or penalty. In this volume, we hope that we provide a path toward a radical reimagination of higher education and resistance with the practical teaching and learning tools to help facilitate a new vision. The higher education institution has a vested role in controlling SA practitioners because they directly interact with, influence, and develop current and future students. Supporting their work and providing developing for them to do (and know how to do) critical work is imperative for to transform the higher education institution.