The Reinvention Collaborative is pleased to present critical Student Affairs perspectives on lessons learned from the fall, challenges and opportunities for the spring, and how higher ed is apt to change as a result of COVID, social unrest, systemic racism, and so forth. The town hall features Dr. Blanche Hughes, Vice President for Student Affairs at Colorado State University and member of the RC Board, and Dr. Kevin P. Jackson, Vice President Student Life at Baylor University, bringing perspectives from both so-called blue and red states, and public and private research universities.
Dr. Blanche Hughes received her bachelor’s degree from Earlham College, a Master’s of Education degree in Student Affairs, and Doctorate degree in Sociology from Colorado State University. She is currently in her 14th year as the Vice President for Student Affairs at CSU. In this role, she works with a Division that includes 21 departments that collaborate with other units in the University community to help our students and staff be successful. Dr. Hughes teaches a first-year undergraduate seminar course, as well as teaching and advising in the Student Affairs in Higher Education graduate program. She is also a member of the Reinvention Collaborative Board as the Host Institution Representative.
Before becoming Vice President, Blanche spent six years as the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, eleven years as the Director of Black Student Services at Colorado State University and also served as a professor of the Sociology Department at Pikes Peak Community College for two years, one of those years as Chair of the Department.
Blanche is married to Wayne Hughes and they have four children (two are alums of CSU) and five grandchildren.
Dr. Kevin P. Jackson, Vice President for Student Life, joined Baylor University in July 2009 to lead a comprehensive student life division dedicated to enhancing students’ educational, spiritual, cultural, and physical development. In this role, he has broad responsibility for the areas of campus life, student development, student learning, and engagement, which includes residential living and spiritual life.
With more than 30 years of higher education experience, he previously held positions at Texas A&M University, including assistant vice president for student affairs and visiting assistant professor with the College of Education and Human Development, director for student activities, and senior associate director of the student union. Prior to his work at A&M, he served as an associate director for student union and activities at the University of Denver. He earned a doctorate in educational human resource development from A&M, a master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of Denver, and a bachelor’s degree cum laude in journalism and business from the University of North Texas. He is active in the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), serving previously as chair of the NASPA Conference Career Services Committee and as the Texas State Director for NASPA Region III. He has been named an outstanding alumnus of the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M and a distinguished member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
He and his wife, Garret, a reading specialist for Midway Independent School District, are parents of three daughters: Taylor, Lauren, and Emily.