Epps receives Outstanding Contribution to the Coalition for Multicultural Affairs Award
06/27/17
Sydney Epps, PhD candidate in LSU’s Educational Leadership & Research - Higher Education program and Philadelphia, Pa. native, received the Outstanding Contribution to the Coalition for Multicultural Affairs Award from American College Personnel Association (ACPA) College Student Educators International.
"This well-deserved recognition is evidence of the value that students like Sydney bring to the College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE), Higher Education, and the entire LSU community. The award is the culmination of hard work and most of all a deep commitment to providing meaningful educational service to the increasingly diverse range of individuals educated in U.S. universities," said Dr. Roland Mitchell, CHSE Associate Dean for Research & Academic Services and School of Education Professor.
Epps is a member of the Black Graduate Student Professionals Association, serves on the Title IX LGBT Workgroup, and is the writer and editor of the School of Education's research magazine, Geaux Higher. Epps is also currently working on two independent studies: A study of Racial Battle Fatigue in faculty and staff at American colleges and universities in the midst of Police Brutality and the #BlackLivesMatter Movement and Natural Hair in Workplace/Classroom. She has sat on panels for McNair Scholars ("Academia and Social Change") and Black Artist Initiative ("DON'T TOUCH MY HAIR").
Before she left her full-time position at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where she directed the first-year experience program in housing, she was the advisor of the Residence Hall Association and women’s rugby team and active in the campus Diversity Advisory Board and Sexual Misconduct Resource Team. For two years, she developed and maintained month-long programming focused on sexual assault and domestic violence and worked with local police and community groups on a series of workshops focused on mental health awareness. She also has extensive experience in multicultural appreciation, education, and activism.
The LSU higher education program prepares scholar-practitioners for leadership in colleges and universities as administrators, educators, and scholars. Through an examination of higher education theory and practice, the program seeks to help students understand the diverse nature of higher education institutions and their participants. With this understanding, graduates are expected to develop individualized styles of leadership that encompass educational excellence, respect for others, and contextualized practices.
The Coalition for Multicultural Affairs (CMA) is one of seven different coalitions within the American College Personnel Association (ACPA). CMA is a nationally visible and action-oriented group that addresses the changing cultural dynamics within higher education institutions and works to create multicultural strategies and solutions. The mission of CMA is to focus attention on, and educate the student affairs profession about, the issues and concerns of people of color in higher education. The mission of CMA is to enhance awareness about issues and concerns of individuals and groups from historically marginalized racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds in ACPA and higher education.
The ACPA leads the student affairs profession and the higher education community in providing outreach, advocacy, research, and professional development to foster college student learning.
About SOE
The LSU School of Education (SOE) offers graduate and undergraduate programs in Curriculum and Instruction and in Educational Leadership, Research, and Counseling. The School’s mission is to prepare P-12 educational professionals to be leaders, practitioners and scholars knowledgeable in contemporary educational issues.
Visit the School of Education at lsu.edu/chse/education
About CHSE
The College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE) is a nationally accredited division of Louisiana State University. The College is comprised of the School of Education, the School of Leadership and Human Resource Development, the School of Kinesiology, the School of Library and Information Science, the School of Social Work, and the University Laboratory School. These combined schools offer 8 undergraduate degree programs and 18 graduate programs, enrolling more than 1,900 undergraduate and 977 graduate students. The College is committed to achieving the highest standards in teaching, research, and service and is continually working to improve its programs.
Visit the College of Human Sciences & Education at lsu.edu/chse