  {"id":14398,"date":"2025-09-17T16:13:23","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T20:13:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/faculty-excellence\/?page_id=14398"},"modified":"2025-11-10T17:07:51","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T22:07:51","slug":"belonging-series","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/faculty-excellence\/belonging-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Belonging Series"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b><i>Join <\/i><\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/profilepages\/view_profile.php?username=donoghuec\"><b><i>Chris Donoghue<\/i><\/b><\/a><b><i> and<\/i><\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/profilepages\/view_profile.php?username=parke\"><b><i> Eunice Park<\/i><\/b><\/a><b><i> for a series designed to deepen your understanding of student belonging at ÌÇÐÄvlog.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A wide body of evidence demonstrates the importance of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/faculty-excellence\/foster-belonging\/\"><b>student belonging<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in achieving academic success. But what is belonging and how do we define it at Montclair?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">To belong is to feel a deep sense of connection and mattering to the people and places that make up our community. The need to belong is fundamental to the human experience. It means we feel accepted, safe, and seen. In our surveys, we measure it by asking students about their level of classroom comfort, the support they feel from peers and faculty, and the degree of any isolation they may be experiencing. A common misconception is that all students feel like they belong when they see other students that look like them and have similar experiences, but the literature (and our data) show this is not true for all demographic groups.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">At Montclair, we are working hard to understand these group differences not only in belonging but also in physical and mental health, work and family demands, race-based stressors, and other common challenges. You can learn all about these efforts, our survey findings, and helpful strategies for promoting belonging and inclusion by joining us for these sessions:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Student Belonging at Montclair: Results of the 2025 Student Needs &amp; Sense of Belonging Survey<br \/>\nMon., Oct. 27, 2025, @ 2, hybrid\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>\n<span class=\"prpl-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montclair-faculty-excellence.libcal.com\/event\/15397963\"><strong>Register<\/strong>!<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Do I belong at Montclair? Do people like me succeed here?<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Belonging uncertainty can be a drag not only on student academic performance, but also on physical and mental well-being. This year, the Belonging Team asked students several specific questions about their feelings on belonging and their chances of success. Also for the first time, we measured career readiness and social capital. Join Christopher Donoghue and Eunice Park as they share the results of a Spring 2025 survey of more than 3,000 <\/span><b>Montclair Undergraduates <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Learn about the survey results that will support the University\u2019s efforts to develop targeted interventions and support structures to enhance student success. (Graduate student results will be shared later this academic year.)<\/span><\/span>This study was commissioned by former <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Provost Junius Gonzales<\/span> to provide insights to all Montclair faculty and staff in their work ensuring student success. Understanding the insights gained from this survey will be helpful as we craft and hone our programming and work in and outside of classrooms. All members of the Montclair community are welcome.<\/li>\n<li><strong><strong>Student Belonging at Montclair: Strategies and Pedagogies<br \/>\nWed., Nov. 12, 2025, @ 2, Online<br \/>\n<span class=\"prpl-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montclair-faculty-excellence.libcal.com\/event\/15398017\">Register!<\/a> <\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It\u2019s November and you\u2019re thinking: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><em>How can I get my students to be more engaged? What can I do to increase feelings of belonging and inclusion?<\/em> <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Join Christopher Donoghue and Eunice Park to learn about classroom strategies and pedagogies that can enhance a sense of belonging among your students. Data that faculty and staff who work with first-year students may find particularly relevant will also be shared.<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/span>This session will be interactive with real-life examples and learning from each other.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This study was commissioned by former Provost Junius Gonzales to provide insights to all Montclair faculty and staff in their work ensuring student success. Understanding the insights gained from this presentation will be helpful as we craft and hone our programming and work in and outside of classrooms.\u00a0 All members of the Montclair community are welcome.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Student Belonging at Montclair: Results of the 2025 <em>Graduate <\/em>Student Needs &amp; Sense of Belonging Survey<br \/>\nComing in Spring 2026!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"prpl-drawer\"><div class=\"prpl-drawer-header\">Past Sessions<\/div><div class=\"prpl-drawer-content\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Student Belonging at Montclair: Results of the 2024 Student Needs &amp; Sense of Belonging Survey, <\/strong>Wed., Feb. 5, @ 2, in person<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Research shows that learning environments that foster a strong sense of belonging are crucial for student persistence and success. What does sense of belonging look like at Montclair? How do students manage competing demands from work and family? How do challenges like work demands and mental health create barriers to belonging? Join Christopher Donoghue and Eunice Park as they share the undergraduate results of the 2024 Student Needs &amp; Sense of Belonging Survey. Learn about the survey results that will support the University\u2019s efforts to develop targeted interventions and support structures to enhance student success. (Graduate student results will be shared later this semester.)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This study was commissioned by Provost Junius Gonzales to provide insights to all Montclair faculty and staff in their work ensuring student success. Understanding the insights gained from this survey will be helpful as we craft and hone our programming and work in and outside of classrooms. All members of the Montclair community are welcome. Light refreshments will be provided.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Strategies &amp; Pedagogies for Belonging and Inclusion, Mon., Feb. 24, @ 2pm, in person and online<\/strong><br \/>\n<b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It\u2019s well known in Higher Education that students who feel a greater sense of belonging experience greater student success and overall well-being. But what do we mean when we say belonging? And what can faculty and staff do in the classroom to enhance feelings of belonging? Join Christopher Donoghue and Eunice Park to learn about classroom strategies and pedagogies that can raise feelings of belonging and inclusion. You will also hear what our students had to say about belonging in a series of Belonging Brainstorming Sessions held in the last few months. All members of the Montclair community are welcome. Light refreshments will be provided.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Belonging as a Graduate Student at Montclair: Results of the 2024 Sense of Belonging Survey of Graduate Students, Mon., Mar. 24, @ 2pm, in person and online<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/montclair-faculty-excellence.libcal.com\/event\/14119180\"><b>Register<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2024, Academic Affairs expanded its research on belonging by surveying 725 graduate students on their experiences at Montclair. In addition to answering questions on belonging, they also told us why they chose Montclair for their graduate studies as well as how highly they rated us on factors like diversity, student success, variety of programs, and teaching quality. They also told us about their work demands, their educational goals, and their academic self-concept (e.g. rating their mathematical ability). Join Christopher Donoghue and Eunice Park as they unpack these findings about graduate education at Montclair and offer insights on how we can improve the student experience.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">All members of the Montclair community are welcome. Light refreshments will be provided.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Faculty Workshop on Belonging: Sharing Strategies, Wed., Apr. 9, @ 4, in person and online<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/montclair-faculty-excellence.libcal.com\/event\/14132920\"><b>Register<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Faculty and staff have been working hard to cultivate belonging at Montclair. This workshop is an opportunity for<\/span><b> you <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to share what you\u2019ve been doing as well as to collaborate with colleagues and students to develop and refine strategies for belonging. We will also have the chance to hear students\u2019 perspectives.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This workshop is facilitated by members of OFE\u2019s Community of Practice on Belonging, and is the closing session of our spring 2025 series on belonging led by Chris Donoghue and Eunice Park. Together we can work to improve students\u2019 sense of belongingness at Montclair. We welcome new and past participants in the series to this session.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Join Chris Donoghue and Eunice Park for a series designed to deepen your understanding of student belonging at ÌÇÐÄvlog.\u00a0 A wide body of evidence demonstrates the importance of student belonging in achieving academic success. But what is belonging and how do we define it at Montclair? To belong is to feel a deep [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":328,"featured_media":14410,"parent":0,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-14398","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/faculty-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/faculty-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/faculty-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/faculty-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/328"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/faculty-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14398"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/faculty-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14564,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/faculty-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14398\/revisions\/14564"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/faculty-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/faculty-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}