Jeff Doyle, Suzanne Rivera, and James Vasquez on Belonging [Webinar]

How can institutions define and measure belonging? What are inspirational examples of programs, spaces, and support services that foster it? How is student belonging changing, and how can folks adapt? In a LinkedIn Live Webinar, Elliot Felix talked through these questions with Suzanne Rivera the President at Macalester College, Jeff Doyle the Executive Director of Student Support at UT Austin, and James Vasquez the Associate Dean of Operations and Strategy at the USC Annenberg School. They share different perspectives along with the programs and places they’ve used to foster belonging and drive student success – from environments to athletics to communications and more.

Episode Highlights include:

[5:47] The Book's Big Ideas - Host Elliot Felix defines student belonging using research proving that connected first-year students are 41% more likely to be retained into year two.

[8:18] The Power of One Question - Jeff Doyle shares how asking students if they feel like they belong is five times more predictive of retention than 100 other variables.

[15:06] Spaces Built for Synergy - James Vasquez explains how USC Annenberg used cross-collaborative stakeholder workshops to design a highly utilized, multi-departmental campus facility.

[19:11] Mapping the Student Journey - President Suzanne Rivera details how Macalester College used student heat maps to transform their main administrative building into a student-facing hub.

[44:31] Human Connections Over Bots - The panel analyzes why automated AI chatbots are short-term fixes, advocating instead for peer-to-peer leadership and scaling high-touch human relationships.