Envisioning Racial Equity on College Campuses: Bridging Research-to-Practice Gaps for Institutional Transformation

Despite dozens of recommendations by researchers for developing campus practices and policies that cultivate racially inclusive and equitable environments, remarkable research-to-practice gaps exist in higher education. For instance, Maxey and Kezar (2015) argue that many practitioners and policymakers 'rely more on personal experience, practical knowledge, and anecdotal evidence in responding to the challenges they face' (p. 1046). Such gaps leave many institutional actors on campus ill- prepared to address systemic challenges related to racial inequality on campus through evidence-based practice. Thus, the goals of the 'Campus Racial Equity Symposium' are to (a) Develop and cultivate a community of practice among a diverse and intergenerational group of scholars who are committed to advancing racial equity in higher education; (b) Identify and document limitations in existing scholarly research related to structural and systemic racial inequalities in higher education; (c) Facilitate and nurture robust and collaborative research agendas among Symposium attendees aimed at addressing limitations in research; (d) Identify and document ways to bridge research-to-practice gaps in higher education; and (e) Develop a set of 'Race Equity Toolkits' to help facilitate evidence-based practice among campus practitioners, specifically aimed at fostering and sustaining transformational change for racial equity.,