Dive Brief:
- Presidents of colleges that primarily serve minority students could engage with more students and "humanize" themselves if they were more actively using social media, a new study of the administrators showed. Diverse reported that the study also noted that minority-serving institution presidents can be successful in connecting with their communities through service events and social justice issues.
- The report from the Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSI) at the University of Pennsylvania says social media allows these or any college president the opportunity to be "innovative in the ways they serve, support and connect with students, alumni and their campus communities," at a time when that sort of interaction is important.
- The study showed that the three primary ways these presidents engaged with students has been through photo opportunities, service events and social events, though it also gave examples of the creative ways several administrators are connecting with their school community online.
Dive Insight:
The report recommended that MSI presidents prioritize a social media presence, but "diversify" the content to offer information about student activities and achievements, university events, community service and school traditions, for example. According to Diverse, it suggested they have a social media team and follow students and comment about their activities, get suggestions from students online and pay attention to causes that are important to them, including social justice issues.
The American Association of Community Colleges has urged presidents of its colleges to use social media, noting that it can amplify "great stories that explain the mission", provide a forum to show they are a leader and help develop a greater sense of community at the institution.
The CMSI report, which scanned presidential activity through a wide variety of online platforms over a 10-year period, highlighted presidents who used Twitter effectively, but also those who held a toy drive, raised money for a neighborhood revitalization project and organized a peace walk.
Marybeth Gasman, director of center, pointed to David Wilson, president at Morgan State University, as an example, of someone who advanced a social justice issue when the school displayed the message “Welcome to Morgan State University, where Black lives have always mattered!” on electronic signs around its campus. “Talk about a way to welcome African-American students and to tell everyone in the community how much you value black lives,” Gasman said. “That’s incredibly important.”