As higher education continues to navigate shifting student needs, public scrutiny, and institutional change, one truth remains clear: students thrive when they feel seen, supported, and connected.
In this powerful keynote, Dr. Terrell Strayhorn challenges institutions to rethink student success beyond retention metrics and academic outcomes by centering belonging, holistic support, and meaningful engagement.
Drawing on research and practice, Dr. Strayhorn will explore how colleges and universities can build coordinated, cross-functional systems of support that affirm students’ identities, strengthen community, and foster environments where every student can flourish. Participants will leave inspired to reshape institutional culture, reignite their commitment to student-centered work, and reclaim higher education’s transformative promise through intentional collaboration, care, and connection.
Meet Our Keynote Speaker
Dr. Terrell Strayhorn is Professor of Education and Psychology at Virginia Union University (VUU), where he also serves in several leadership roles in the Office of the Provost, Interim Dean of the School of Education, Director of Research in the Center for the Study of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Director of the Center for Transcendent Leadership.
Author of 15 books, including his newest, Students' Sense of Belonging and Involvement in College: Key Insights from Research for Practice, and over 200 academic publications, Professor Strayhorn is an internationally recognized scholar whose groundbreaking research paves a way forward in advancing our understanding of human thriving, student success, and sense of belonging for our most vulnerable populations in living-, learning-, and workplaces.
His work has been published in leading journals including Journal of Higher Education, Review of Higher Education, American Behavioral Scientist, Journal of Dental Education, Journal of African American Studies, and Urban Education, just to name a few. He is Specialty Chief Editor for Frontiers in Education, Co-Editor for Belonging (Sage), Associate Editor for Journal of Minority Achievement, Creativity & Leadership (JMACL), and Guest Editor of special issues for Education Sciences, Peabody Journal, Youth, and Healthcare.
Dr. Strayhorn earned undergraduate degrees from the University of Virginia (UVA), a master’s (MEd) in education policy from UVA's School of Education, a master’s (MS) in psychology from Indiana Tech, a master’s in business administration (MBA), and a doctorate (PhD) in educational leadership and policy studies from Virginia Tech.
He’s a member of the Children’s Defense Fund’s Freedom Schools Research Advisory Board, AGB Leadership & Governance Fellow, several nonprofit boards (Rainbow Labs, MEN Inc. Houston, Psychologists of Color, Inc.), and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. A contributing writer for Entrepreneur, AllBusiness, and ThriveGlobal, he leads the Belonging Matters blog at Psychology Today and hosts the weekly #TLSTalks podcast.
More than titles and publications, Terrell is a communicator, a “messenger” who believes in using his knowledge to empower others to “do good work” in the world—work that strengthens society, transforms communities, and changes lives. He specializes in blending research and scholarship with “real talk” for real life, earning the title “The People’s Professor” on social media.
Join Us Monday Morning
Start your Monday at SACSA with an inspiring conversation about what it means to create institutions where students truly feel that they belong. Dr. Terrell Strayhorn’s keynote, The Bridge to Belonging: Reclaiming Student Success Through Connection, Care, and Coordinated Support, will take place Monday, November 2 at 10:00 a.m. during the SACSA Annual Conference brunch session.
We look forward to gathering with colleagues for this timely conversation and exploring how connection, care, and coordinated support can help us strengthen the student experience and advance the transformative promise of higher education
