Dr. Melissa A. Brown

Students Succeed When They “Belong” 

Dr. Melissa A. Brown, Director of Student Life Assessment and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville is  working with  Student Life department leadership to develop a survey used by her Division to adequately represent the multi-faceted experiences and identities of potentially marginalized students in order to support them more effectively and to enhance their sense of “belonging” on campus. She argues that this work:

• should be very intentional and should be focused on advocating for the student experience, both for students already on campus and the students that you want to attract to come to campus;

• should result in data that is easily shared across the institution;

• can incorporate existing data (Hope Center Student Basic Needs Survey, ACHA, NSSE, Common App, Clifton Strengths, etc.);

• may be challenging;

• requires strategic thinking and a significant amount of time and consideration;

• breaks down silos across departments or divisions;

• is reciprocal: we should educate students about the efforts the university is doing to make them feel like they matter, like they belong, and demonstrate that prior students’ feedback has been incorporated into actionable initiatives; and 

• requires sensitivity, because the words we use truly matter.

Dr. Brown’s passion and enthusiasm for supporting all identities and lived experiences is being directly translated into her work with both university and divisional partners.