Profile for Tori Svoboda
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Tori Svoboda Pronounce my name
Pronouns: She, her, hers
Professor
Student Affairs Administration
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Specialty area(s)
intersections of gender, racial/ethnic, and social class identities; orientation, transition and retention programs; program assessment; budget management; supervision; social justice education
Brief biography
I was born in St. Paul MN and later raised on a small hobby farm in western WI. I've always loved learning and was the first in my immediate family to graduate from college. I attended UW-River Falls, St. Cloud State, and UW-Madison as an undergraduate, and started graduate school at UW-Madison thinking I would be a guidance counselor. A former work-study supervisor of mine there encouraged me to check out student affairs as a career option. Over 30 years later, I'd say he gave great advice!
In 2013, I transitioned from full-time administrator to full-time instructor. I still think of myself primarily as an administrator, and probably will until I've been a faculty member for at least as long as I was an administrator. In 2024, I was promoted to full professor and started my fifth year as chair of our department. I currently live in Minneapolis, MN.
Current courses at UWL
Fall 2024:
SAA 775 - Practicum
SAA 840 - Supervision & Human Resource Management
SAA 990/995 - Dissertation research
Education
Ed.D. - Leadership, 2012
University of St. Thomas
Dissertation: Constructing Class: Exploring the experiences of White women student affairs educators from working class backgrounds [Link]
M.S. - Counseling Psychology, 1995
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Thesis: Identity matching in counseling relationships
B.A. - Women's Studies, African American Studies, + Foreign Languages, 1992
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Career
Teaching history
Fall 2013 marked my first term teaching at UW-La Crosse. I taught as an adjunct faculty member in the Leadership in Student Affairs master's degree program at the University of St. Thomas (MN) for seven years prior to joining the SAA program. When I was at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, I was a faculty associate teaching behavioral interviewing and a graduate teaching assistant in women's studies.
Courses I have taught at UWL include the following undergraduate, master's, and doctoral courses:
Undergraduate courses
UWL 100 - First Year Seminar
Master's program courses
SAA 700 - Foundations of Ethical and Professional Practice in Student Affairs
SAA 701 - Technology in Student Affairs
SAA 702 - Student Development Theories
SAA 704 - Leadership & Organizational Theories
SAA 706 - Advising & Supporting
SAA 708 - Social Justice in Higher Education
SAA 710 - Administration in Higher Education
SAA 720 (topics) - Academic Advising
SAA 720 (topics) - (Dis)Ability in Higher Ed (co-taught with Robin Hart Ruthenbeck in 2016; with Justin Hiniker in 2018)
SAA 720 (topics) - First Generation Students (co-taught with Amanda Goodenough in 2017)
SAA 720 (topics) - Gender Equity (co-taught with Nizam Arain in 2015)
SAA 720 (topics) - Social Class
SAA 720 (topics) - Student Retention
SAA 720 (topics) - U.K. Study Tour
SAA 720 (topics) - Violence Prevention (co-taught with Barbara Stewart in 2017)
SAA 720 (topics) - White Privilege
SAA 745 - Finance & Governance
SAA 761 - Applied Research / Assessment
SAA 775 - Practicum
SAA 780 - Applied Research Project / SAA Capstone Research
SAA 781 - Student Affairs Internship
SAA 790 - Capstone
SAA 795 - Independent Study (on topics ranging from Ubuntu/Buddhism in Higher Ed, to College Student Retention, to HR/Finance)
Doctoral program courses:
SAA 820 - Critical Analysis of Systemic Inequities in Education
SAA 830 - Qualitative Research Methods
SAA 840 - Supervision & HR Management
SAA 890 (formerly 898) - Special topics: College Teaching
SAA 899 - Independent Studies (on gendered organizations and leadership, assessing online student learning, autoethnography, critical whiteness studies)
SAA 930 - Dissertation Preparation Seminar
SAA 931 - Doctoral Writers' Retreat
SAA 990/995 - Dissertation Research
Professional history
2013-present: Professor (2024-present) / Associate Professor (2019-2023) / Assistant Professor (2014-2018) / Lecturer (2013-2014) at UW-La Crosse.
Initially hired as a full-time instructional academic staff member (lecturer), I was then hired as an assistant professor in 2014; tenured and promoted to associate professor in 2019; and promoted to full professor in 2024. I'm most proud of receiving a 2024 Eagle Excellence in Teaching Award and the 2018 College of Liberal Studies Excellence in Teaching Award. Elected to serve as department chair for three-year terms in 2020 and again in 2023. Served as MSEd Graduate Program Director from 2017-2023.
2002-2013: Associate Dean of Students, Diversity & Inclusion at the University of St. Thomas (MN) (responsible for orientation, student diversity, commuter and adult student services, family weekend, sexual violence investigations, budgeting, assessment)
2007-2014: Adjunct Faculty, Leadership Policy & Administration, University of St. Thomas (taught Introduction to Student Affairs seven consecutive years, along with internship classes and a finance course)
1998-2002: Interim Director (2000-2002)/Assistant Director (1998-2000), Campus Information, Assistance & Orientation, University of Wisconsin - Madison
1995-1998: Academic and Career Advisor, School of Education, University of WI - Madison
1995: Transfer Admissions Counselor, Residency Counselor (LTE), University of WI - Madison
1992-1995: Several positions as a graduate assistant (teaching assistant in Women's Studies, Campus Women's Center Director, student organization office intern, wellness peer educator and HIV test counselor, advisor to outdoor programs in Hoofers, advisor to Greater University Tutoring Service)
Research and publishing
As a full-time administrator for over 20 years, my contributions were primarily through presenting and leading professional associations rather than publishing. As a faculty member, my scholarship includes:
Chair of several dissertations authored by students in our Student Affairs Administration & Leadership (SAAL) Ed.D. program
Svoboda, T., & Lozano, A. (2021). Critical social class and leadership practices. New Directions of Student Leadership, 2021(169), 23-31. [Link in UWL library]
Svoboda, V. (2019). “I could always go back to being a bartender”: Musings of an ambivalent academic. In S. Ardoin & b. martinez (Eds.), Straddling class in the academy. Stylus.
Svoboda, V. (2018). Considering class in academic and career advising. NASPA Knowledge Community Publication, pp. 58-59. [Link]
Svoboda, V. (2016). Grounding versus lifting: Mobility of student affairs educators from working-class backgrounds. NASPA Knowledge Community Publication, pp. 56-58. [Link]
Svoboda, V., Boyle, K. M., & Ponasik, N. (2016). Faculty perceptions of graduate online student affairs education: Skeptics and fans. Distance Teaching & Learning Conference Proceedings, pp. 39-44. [Link]
Svoboda, V., & Vianden, J. (2015). Challenging straight White college men (STR8WCM) to develop positive social justice advocacy. ACPA Developments, 12(4). [Link]
Vianden, J., Berry, M., & Svoboda, T. (2019). Challenging heterosexual White college men to engage in campus diversity efforts: An orientation imperative.Journal of College Orientation, Transition, and Retention 26(1), 4-16.
I also serve as a reviewer for NASPA's Journal of First-generation Student Success.
I led two additional research projects during my time at UWL. The first, studying online graduate education in student affairs, aims to explore faculty perceptions about whether this delivery system could enhance the diversity of our profession. This project was awarded a faculty research grant from ACPA in 2015. We presented preliminary results at ACPA in 2016 and had our first article published in summer 2016.
The second, studying academic early alert systems for undergraduate students of color, is an attempt to learn student experiences with such systems and the extent to which they may activate stereotype threat. This project was awarded a catalyst research grant from NODA in 2015. I presented results at NODAC in 2015 and 2016.
McNair Scholars gives me the chance to work with exceptional undergraduate students on their research. In 2015, Ebony Phillips and I were able to present our work on multiracial students with white passing privilege at the NASPA Multicultural Institute and in 2016, I worked with Cristian Noriega-Sagastume on a project related to polarity management and the social justice educator practice of calling in/out.
With colleague Dr. Buffy Smith, Sociology, University of St. Thomas, I co-edit the Social Class in Education series from Lexington/Routledge. Books we have published thus far include:
Ardoin, S. (2017). College aspirations and access in working class rural communities: The mixed signals, challenges, and new language first generation students encounter. [Link]
Hurst, A. (2019). Amplified advantage: Going to a “good” college in an era of inequality. [Link]
Roberson Lathe, T. (2017). The working class student in higher education: Addressing a class-based understanding. [Link]
Additional professional affiliations include:
SJTI - Social Justice Training Institute - participant in 2003, renewal in 2006, intern in 2012
ACPA - College Student Educators International - former Board member of the Commission for Commuter Students and Adult Learners and of the Minnesota College Personnel Association. Presenter and facilitator at ACPA's Institute for Social Justice in 2010. Member since 1995.
NODA - Association for Orientation, Transition, & Retention in Higher Education - as member of research committee, helped craft organization's first research agenda. NODA was my professional home for many years, as I served as the MN State Coordinator for four years, hosted a regional conference when I was at UW-Madison, and presented at both the national and regional conferences over 20 times.
NACADA - National Academic Advising Association - pre-conference workshop presenter in 2012.
ASHE - Association for the Study of Higher Education - early career faculty teaching workshop participant in 2010.
I have also presented at the annual NAFSA and ACHA conventions, TRIO Tri-State conferences, and MN and WI career conferences.
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