2022 Keynote

Proximity Does Not Equal Advocacy

Wednesday, February 2, 2022
9:30am-10:45am

Far too often we mistake our proximity for advocacy. Our proximity to people, spaces, and populations is not an automatic transmission to our advocacy for the same group. It is imperative for institutions and academic leaders to shift from the mindset of proximity equals advocacy. True advocacy requires a commitment to addressing structural and systemic issues that often create barriers for first-generation college students and other underserved populations including students of color, students from working class families, and more. Over the years, institutions have created pathways to access but have not made the same commitment to ensuring first-generation college students get the maximum benefit from being at the institution. Join Dr. Whitnee Boyd as she shares how to move beyond proximity through access to advocacy.

Whitnee Boyd, Ed.D.

Coordinator of Special Projects at Texas Christian University
Chair of the Advocacy Group for the Center for First-generation Student Success in Washington, D.C. 

Dr. Whitnee Boyd is a native Arkansan. She received her Doctorate of Education in the Higher Education Leadership from TCU. Her passion for higher education stemmed from her time as a student leader at the University of Arkansas where she received her B.S. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing. She went on to earn a M.A. in Higher Education from Louisiana State University. She started her career in higher education working with first-generation college students in TRiO. She has also worked with first-generation college students through Upward Bound, Student Support Services, work with student-athletes, and community-based college access programs. Her research centers the experiences of first-generation college students and their ability to thrive from a strengths-based lens.  She is the chair for the Center for First-generation Student Success Advocacy Group. Whitnee enjoys and values family, faith and friendship. She has an entrepreneurial spirit and is a creative at heart. She has space to create through operating her own consultancy firm, Doc B. Empowers. Her vision for her company is: “Empowering others to explore their future by first discovering themselves.” She hopes that with each encounter each of us can empower others along the way.