Volume 39 Number 6 | December 2025
Summary

This article emphasizes that true leadership in higher education is about fostering belonging. When students and faculty feel seen, supported, and connected, engagement and success increase. Leaders and faculty play key roles in shaping culture through visibility, care, communication, and collaboration. Belonging thrives when the entire campus shares a mission of connection and student-centered support.

Phyllis Ingham, EdD, MLS(ASCP)CM, AHI(AMT), ASCLS Today Volunteer Contributor

Phyllis InghamEvery day in higher education, we are given the privilege to shape lives. Beyond the grades, the labs, and the lectures, what truly matters is how people feel when they walk through our doors. Do they feel welcomed? Seen? Supported?

That’s where leadership makes the greatest difference. Titles don’t build belonging—people do. Our words, decisions, and presence set the tone for how our college operates and how our students experience learning.

Belonging: The Foundation for Growth

When students feel like they belong, their entire educational experience changes. They engage more deeply, reach higher, and persist through challenges. Belonging gives students the courage to keep going, even when life feels uncertain.

Research continues to affirm this. Terrell Strayhorn (2023) describes belonging as the “central hub” that connects engagement, motivation, and success. A 2024 Studies in Higher Education article found that strong relationships with faculty and peers were among the strongest predictors of student resilience.

Leadership that Listens and Lifts

The tone for belonging begins at the top. Students and faculty watch how we lead. They notice how we respond to challenges, how we communicate, and how we treat one another.

Leaders who are approachable, visible, and consistent send a clear message: This is a place where you belong. Walking the halls, calling people by name, and celebrating the small wins are powerful acts of leadership. They build trust.

But belonging also requires direction. When leaders communicate a clear mission, helping every student reach their potential, it gives the entire campus a shared sense of focus and pride.

“A faculty member who takes the time to check on a struggling student has done something as important as publishing a paper—perhaps even more so.”

Empowering Faculty as Culture Builders

Faculty have the most direct influence on student experience. They are the heart of our colleges. When faculty feel trusted, supported, and encouraged, that same energy flows to their students.

As Ghamrawi (2024) explains in Cogent Education, teacher leadership is key to strong academic cultures. Faculty who are empowered to innovate and share best practices help create classrooms where students feel connected and capable.

As a dean, my role demands taking a close look at faculty teaching innovations and ensuring students learn and meet measurable course outcomes. Nothing fills my heart with joy more than a classroom observation where all students are actively engaged in learning as faculty demonstrate professionalism, warmth, and passion while conveying important concepts to their students.

Leadership can make that possible by giving faculty the time and tools to focus on connection through mentorship, reflective teaching, and intentional communication. And when we see those efforts in action, we should recognize them. A faculty member who takes the time to check on a struggling student has done something as important as publishing a paper—perhaps even more so.

Creating a Network of Support

Students thrive when the college community moves in sync. Academic advising, tutoring, mental health services, and peer mentoring all play vital roles in a student’s journey.

The Institute for Higher Education Policy (2023) highlights that student experience, not just academic achievement, is a leading predictor of persistence. Students who know that their college cares about their success as a whole person are more likely to stay and complete their goals.

That sense of care is something leadership must constantly reinforce. Belonging isn’t just about what happens in a classroom; it’s about how every part of the college connects to support student growth.

A Shared Vision for Connection

Belonging isn’t a one-time initiative—it’s a shared responsibility. It grows when every person on campus sees themselves as part of the same mission.

Leaders can help shape that shared vision by communicating often and with intention. When faculty, staff, and students all know that belonging is central to the college’s purpose, it influences how they show up for one another.

John Maxwell (2018) says it best: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” That simple truth should guide every interaction we have. Our care must be visible in our decisions, communication, and how we celebrate others.

The Heart of Leadership

Leadership in higher education isn’t about control, it’s about cultivation. Like dedicated gardeners, we prepare the soil, plant the seeds, and nurture the growth of others with patience, care, and hope for what will bloom.

When we lead with heart, we help others remember the “why” behind their work. Faculty begin to see teaching as connection, not just instruction. Students begin to see college as a community, not just a credential.

True leadership blends compassion with clarity. It builds spaces where every student feels seen, every faculty member feels valued, and every voice matters. When that happens, belonging stops being an idea—it becomes who we are. And that’s where transformation truly begins.

References

Phyllis Ingham is Dean of Health Sciences at West Georgia Technical College in Waco, Georgia.