Alan Acosta


Professional Details

Title Visiting Assistant Professor
Department McKeown School of Education
Email alan.acosta@salemstate.edu
Resume Alan Acosta
Photo of Alan Acosta

Recent and Upcoming Courses

EDU 723 The History of Higher Education

Professional Biography

Alan Acosta is a passionate higher education professional whose work focuses on supporting college students in their identity development and helping them to become ethical global leaders. He currently serves as Acting Senior Associate Dean of Students at Clark University, supervising the Office of Residential Life and Housing, student conduct, and supporting the university’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Prior to Clark, Alan spent almost 14 years at Florida State University in a variety of roles and managing numerous campus offices, including student conduct, housing, new student orientation, and accessibility services. Alan has been actively involved in ACPA – College Student Educators International (ACPA) and the Association for Student Conduct Administration (ASCA) for over 10 years. He has served each organization in numerous roles, including as ACPA Foundation Treasurer, Chair of ACPA’s Commission for Student Conduct and Legal Issues, coordinator for ACPA’s Voices of Inclusion medallions, co-chairing the ASCA case-study competition, and serving as the Educational Initiatives chair for ASCA’s 2016 Annual Conference. He also is a member of NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA) and a past member of the Association of College and University Housing Officers – International (ACUHO-I). Alan believes in the power of education to uplift communities and change lives, which drives and centers the work he does.

Professional Interests

My research agenda centers around the experiences of students of color in postsecondary institutions, particularly at Predominantly White Institutions. This agenda focuses on the critical examination of culturally-inclusive leadership education, the definition and sense-making of race on the leadership experiences of students of color, the influences of masculinity and Latino leadership development, and understanding the interpersonal and developmental learning of Latino men. My research methodology is primarily qualitative, more specifically narrative inquiry and case study models.

Responsibilities

Responsible for the vision, management, and strategic leadership of the Office of Residential Life and Housing with a student occupancy of approximately 1,150 students. Provide overall strategic planning, visioning, and support to the Dean of Students Office. Fill in for the Dean of Students as primary departmental point of contact and representative at university meetings as needed. Directly supervise RLH Interim Director and indirectly supervised six RLH pro staff members and approximately 45 student staff. Support institutional and divisional diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, including co-facilitating the Professionals of Color caucus group for the Division of Student Affairs and partnering with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion on responding to campus reports of discrimination and bias. Collaborate with campus partners, university athletics, and academic departments to provide institutional supports and resources related to campus’s COVID-19-related issues, including supporting students placed in quarantine and isolation housing, testing concerns, communicating with families, and compliance with the Clark Commitment. Serve in Administrator On-Call crisis management rotation, giving consultation and organizing crisis management support and response to students, staff, faculty, administrators, campus partners, families, and university guests. Adjudicate alleged violations of the Student Code of Conduct.

Selected Publications

Refereed Journal Articles

Acosta, A., & Guthrie, K. L. (2020). Haciendose un Líder: Leadership identity development of Latino men at a Predominantly White Institution. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1538192720932472

Acosta, A. (2017). We’ve got high hopes: Using hope to improve higher education. Journal of College and Character, 18(4), 306-312.

Nonrefereed Journal Articles

Acosta, A. (2015). Making hope happen (book review). Journal of College Orientation & Transition, 22(2), 103-105.

Edited Books

Hudson, J., Acosta, A., & Holmes, R.C. (Eds.). (2018). Conduct and community: A residence life practitioner’s guide. Association of College and University Housing Officers – International: Columbus, OH. Co-editors were all established practitioners and colleagues in the student conduct field.

Invited Book Chapters

Acosta, A. (in press). Student conduct. In K. L. Guthrie & C. C. Beatty, Eds.), Operationalizing culturally relevant leadership learning. Information Age Publishing.

Acosta, A. (2021). I mean you no harm: Implicit bias and Black males in higher education. In G. Strohschen & K. B. Elazier (Eds.), Blackmaled by academia (pp. 93-103). American Scholars Press.

Invited Contributing Book Author

Linnell, J. (2009). Off to college: Now what? Ocala, FL: Atlantic Publishing Group.

Fiore, L. (2009). The college roommate from hell. Ocala, FL: Atlantic Publishing Group.

Author of Fostering Moral Development blog published bimonthly on the NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education website

Selected Presentations

See CV for list of presentations.

Personal Interests

Alan enjoys spending time with his partner, Danielle, their dog Stella, and their two cats, Ninja and Buster. He loves watching professional wrestling and sports, including cheering for the Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Boston Red Sox, and San Francisco Giants. He also enjoys reading books and watching movies. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @alanacosta81. ¡Boricua!