Editor’s Note
Complicate Yourself
Frank Shushok, Jr.
“As a young doctoral student at the University of Maryland, my academic guide Robert (Bob) Birnbaum was fond of telling my fellow graduate colleagues and me to “complicate ourselves.” Bob ’ s counsel was a per-sistent and overarching encouragement to avoid sim-ple solutions for really complex problems. At that time in my life, I was newly married with no kids, no debt, and almost no real problems I hadn ’ t been able to solve with simple solutions. Additionally, the world seemed to be full only of potential and promise.
Feature Articles
Jonathan O’Brien
In this intriguing article (developed out of the 2015 About Campus Writers Retreat), JonathanO’Brien demonstrates the importance of supporting students’ moral development. O’Brien integrates James Rest’s moral maturity framework with an inclusive queer theory (that attends to the intersections of race, sexuality, and gender) to make sense of fraternity president Rami’s moral difficulty in enforcing chapter policies.
Getting Schooled: What One Dean Learned from One Students with ASD
Eileen Sullivan
Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are often intel-lectually capable, but the disorder affects social skills, communica-tion, and behavior in ways that make college a challenge. Eileen G. Sullivan shares her experience of mentoring a student with ASD to demonstrate how we might help such students succeed.
Dafina-Lazarus Stewart
Dafi na-Lazarus Stewart takes on the charged issue of who should lead multicultural affairs. Do mul-ticultural affairs leaders need to be from minoritized groups to effec-tively reach students from those groups? Views from Campus
As Dad or Dean? An Administrator and His Child Go To College
Scott Brown
The first year of college is a chal-lenging time for students. Nobody knows that better than a college dean. So, when Scott C. Brown ’ s oldest daughter went off the col-lege, he knew what to worry about.