JCC Welcomes Birgit Schreiber as Student Development Outside the U.S.Contributing Editor
October 29, 2019
JCC editors are pleased to introduce a new journal section that addresses issues relating to student development in higher education institutions outside the United States. This section examines how colleges and universities throughout the globe influence the moral and civic character and behaviors of students. As contributing editor of this new column Birgit Schreiber will author articles, and she will also invite leaders in the field to contribute to this important section.
In the column’s inaugural article International Youth Alienation and Disengagement: Are “Care-less” Institutions to Blame? (vol. 20, no. 4, Nov. 2019) Birgit and co-author Magda Fourie-Malherbe explore the diverse reasons for student discontent In South Africa and argue that voter disengagement and student protests are symptoms of neo-liberal changes in South Africa higher education that influence voter disengagement and increased student unrest. They propose in their article that student affairs and services professionals in universities, adopt an ethics of care, not only as a practice, but also as a framework for student development.
Career Background
Since her early work as a psychotherapist at the University of Cape Town, Birgit has been compassionate about the intersection of higher education and social justice, working with students to navigate the schisms of the socio-cultural and academic landscapes of South Africa. Since then, she has worked in higher education management and leadership for the past 20 years, not only at South African and African universities, but also as a visiting scholar at University of California, Berkeley. In addition she has given lectures at other universities in the U. S. and in Europe.
Scholarship
Birgit’s scholarship focuses on the intersection of higher education with social justice in developing and developed contexts with a lens on internationalization, diversity, engagement (doi: https://doi.org/10.20853/30-5-593) and Student Affairs (doi.org/10.1515/jcc-2014-0026). She has published over 34 articles and chapters, and has presented papers and key notes at national and international events.
She is editor with Roger Ludeman (president emeritus of International Association of Student Affairs and Services) of the 2-volume UNESCO-IASAS book Student Affairs and Services in Higher Education: Global Foundations, Issues and Best Practices, 3rd Edition. The volume highlights the work of over 200 authors from nearly 100 countries. Authors and advisors of book include Hans de Wit, George Kuh, Cindy Love, Ahmed Bawa, Teboho Moja, Susan Komives, Lisa Bardill Moscaritolo, Gavin Henning, John Schuh, Carney Strange, and many others from across the globe.
Organizations
Together with colleagues Teboho Moja (NYU) and Thierry Luescher (South Africa) she is the editor of Journal for Student Affairs in Africa (jsaa.ac.za) which is the first academic research journal on the African continent that features articles on student affairs in higher education in the developing and developed parts of the continent and beyond.
Her involvement in advancing the field of student affairs includes her engagement with a variety of national and international associations, for which she has held executive positions. Currently she serves as vice president for the International Association for Student Affairs and Services and is on the international advisory board for NASPA. She is also on the review board for the Journal for College Student Development (www.myacpa.org/jcsd).
Her work as the JCC column editor of Student Development Outside the US not only includes curating uniquely international research, but also internationalizing the JCC. This consists of featuring non-USA content and the intentional inclusion of international scholars in the review process, an emphasis on international references, and a focus on collaborative research with scholars beyond the USA.
