Lauren N. Irwin is an assistant professor of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Lauren primarily teaches in the College Student Personnel (e.g., Conflict in Higher Education; Multiculturalism) and Higher Education Administration (e.g., Administration and Governance) programs. After earning a B.A. at UCLA and an M.A. in Student Affairs Administration at Michigan State University, Lauren completed her Ph.D. in Higher Education and Student Affairs at the University of Iowa. In addition to being on the editorial board of the Journal of College Student Development and Educational Researcher, Lauren has reviewed manuscripts for the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Whiteness and Education, and the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. Lauren is an active member of ACPA (College Student Educators, International), ASHE (Association for the Study of Higher Education), and AERA (American Educational Research Association) and regularly attends their annual conferences. Further, Lauren’s professional experience spans multiple universities, including Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA, and functional areas, including leadership education, residence life, service-learning, student-athlete advising, InterGroup Dialogues, and social justice peer education programs.

Broadly, Lauren engages in critical and collaborative research pursuits to shape student affairs practice in ways that enhance and affirm students’ and practitioners’ agency and success. Primarily, Lauren leans on critical perspectives and qualitative methods to pursue two overarching research strands: (1) critical examination of racialization and whiteness in higher education; and (2) foster equity and inclusion in college student leadership education efforts. Lauren’s doctoral dissertation about racialization and whiteness in college student leadership programs received ACPA’s Marylu McEwen Dissertation of the Year Award. Further, Lauren’s scholarship on whiteness and racialization has been published in some of the top outlets in the field, including the American Educational Research Journal, Review of Higher Education, Journal of College Student Development, and The Handbook of Higher Education, among others. Her critical work related to whiteness and equity in student affairs practice has been featured in recent edited volumes like New Directions for Student Leadership, Critical Whiteness Praxis: Considerations for the Pursuit of Racial Justice in Higher Education, and A Research Agenda for Learning and Developing Leadership in Higher Education. Lauren’s work focuses on translating theory and research to practice–this practical relevance has ensured that her 2019 co-authored piece entitled “Strengths so White: Interrogating StrengthsQuest Through a Critical Whiteness Lens” remains the Journal of Critical Scholarship in Higher Education and Student Affairs’ most downloaded article since it was published.

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