153 Author biographies Dr Lisa Bardill Moscaritolo is the vice provost for Student Life at the American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Dr Bardill Moscaritolo is the secretary general of IASAS. She is a passionate student affairs and services leader with extensive experience in aligning strategic goals with the university’s vision and mission within a variety of functional areas. She fosters student engagement and fosters an environment of inclusion through innovative programming and open communications. Lisa promotes a strong sense of community and collaboration among faculty, students and staff and designs, implements, and measures student services and learning outcomes based on best practices in student affairs. She also leads numerous global projects in student affairs throughout various overseas locations as well as international publications. Dr Moses Basitere is a senior lecturer in the Academic Support Programme for Engineering (ASPECT) at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He teaches physics and holds a doctoral degree in Chemical Engineering and a postgraduate diploma in Higher Education for Academic Developers. He has a keen interest in engineering education research with a special focus on the integration of emerging technologies to enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics and physics. Moses’s other research interests are in water and wastewater treatment, and he is a member of the Water Research Group at UCT Civil Engineering. Prof. Raisuyah Bhagwan is a full professor in the Child and Youth Care Department of the Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa. She is an active researcher who has published widely on social work, spirituality and community engagement. Rajendra Bista is a graduate student in the School of Education and Urban Studies at Morgan State University, Baltimore in the United States. Dr Kathleen ‘Kat’ Callahan is a senior lecturer of Leadership Studies at Christopher Newport University. She serves as the director of the student leader global summit for IASAS. She has worked in higher education for almost 20 years in student affairs and academic affairs with expertise in internationalization of student affairs, history of higher education, and leadership education and development. Prof. Ronelle Carolissen is a clinical psychologist and full professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology at Stellenbosch University. She is an NRF-rated researcher. Her research expertise and publications explore feminist decolonial pedagogies and critical community psychology perspectives on equity in general, and youth citizenship in higher education contexts. She is a Fulbright research scholar alumna (2021–2022) and a member of ASSAf (Academy of Science of South Africa). 154 Gian Luca Giovannucci is president of the European University and College Association, and treasurer of the International Association of Student Affairs and Services (IASAS). ’Mateboho Green has been a manager in corporate communication at Universities South Africa (USAf) from April 2013. USAf is a representative body of South Africa’s 26 public universities. Green holds a BA in Journalism and Communication from Concordia University, Canada (1992), an honours in Communication Management from the University of Pretoria, South Africa (2001) and a master’s in Development and Management from North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus (2019). She is passionate about stakeholder engagement in a national development context and enjoys writing about human transformation. Dr Naseem Haniff is a registered HPCSA counselling psychologist and experienced professional with extensive knowledge of the higher education arena. She obtained her PhD in Leadership and Systems Thinking, with her research entitled ‘Distributed leadership at a South African university of technology: A multi-stakeholder model’. Her MA (Counselling Psychology) was obtained from the University of Durban -Westville. Since 2010, Dr Haniff has been Director: Wellness Centre (Counselling and Health) at the Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa. In addition to her registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), she is also a member of the Psychological Society of South Africa. Dr Haniff has supervised and has oversight of the Counselling Psychology internship programme at the Durban University of Technology. Reggiswindis Thobile Hlengwa has practised child and youth care in various residential settings from 1991 to 1998. She is registered as an assessor with the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA). In 2004, she obtained a B. Tech degree in Child and Youth Development at the then Durban Institute of Technology (DIT). She has an honours degree in Social Development from the University of Cape Town (UCT) and a master’s degree in Education (Higher Education) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Her research interests include child and youth care practice and issues affecting students in institutions of higher learning. Ms Hlengwa has been a lecturer in the Child and Youth Care programme at the Durban University of Technology since 2007. Prof. Eunice Ndeto Ivala is an associate professor and director of the Centre for Innovative Educational Technology, Cape Peninsula University of Technology located in Cape Town, South Africa. Eunice is passionate about staff development in mainstreaming technology in learning and teaching and her training philosophy is informed by design- based research, design thinking, participatory methods, and reflective and reflexive pedagogies. Her research focus is on ICT–mediated teaching and learning in developing contexts. She has published/co-published more than seventy research papers and co-edited/edited two conference proceedings and five books. She won an award for 155 excellence in e-learning from Global Learn Tech for her research impact on changing educational and individuals’ practices Prof. Mpho P. Jama is a research fellow at the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein, South Africa, and a Fulbright Research Fellow and Exchange alumna in the US. Prior to this, she was the head of department in the Division Student Learning and Development in the Faculty of Health Sciences and a residence head in Student Affairs at UFS. Her research niche and scholarship has always been on student development and support, with a focus on programmes/strategies that promote a humanistic approach. She is currently writing a book titled ‘Towards a humanistic pedagogy: teaching students in complex and demanding academic environments’. Prof. Thierry M. Luescher is Strategic Lead: Equitable Education in the Equitable Education and Economies research division of the Human Sciences Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa. He is also adjunct professor of Critical Studies in Higher Education Transformation at Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, and a research fellow in Higher Education at the University of the Free State, South Africa. Prof. Luescher has been awarded international excellence awards for his research on student affairs by NASCPA and ACPA. He is an NRF-rated researcher and a member of the JSAA Editorial Executive. Dr Henry Mason (D litt et Phil) is registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa as research psychologist and psychometrist. He is a past president of the Southern African Association for Counselling and Development in Southern Africa and serves on the editorial board of the JSAA. Henry is employed at the Directorate of Student Development and Support, Tshwane University of Technology, and manages the Academic Assessment Unit specializing in conducting psychological assessments to enhance student access and success. He has served on the TUT research ethics committee for nine years as chairperson, vice-chairperson, and qualitative research expert. In addition to holding an NRF research rating, Henry has published in national and international scientific journals. Andile Samkele Masuku holds a bachelor’s degree in Child and Youth Care and a master’s degree in Health Sciences. He is registered for a PhD in Health Sciences in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Durban University of Technology. His research focuses on social issues affecting high school learners and students in higher education. Andile is currently employed as a student development officer in the Department of Student Governance and Development. In 2021, he was recognised as one of the top 18 impactful and influential visionaries by Enable Youth Organization. Dr Angelique McConney is a registered clinical psychologist with 15 years of experience in the higher education sector. She is currently working as a senior clinical psychologist 156 at Emthonjeni Student Wellness, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa. In her current role she also coordinates the Emthonjeni Peer Help Programme. Her research interest is on student adjustment, wellness and success, with a special interest in support initiatives and peer-led support aimed at facilitating these. Achim Meyer auf der Heyde is a retired general secretary of the Deutschen Studentenwerks (DSW) who currently serves as president of the International Association of Student Affairs and Services (IASAS). Dr Vuyokazi Mntuyedwa is an academic literacy lecturer at CPUT. She holds a PhD from the University of the Western Cape master’s degree from Stellenbosch University and was a visiting scholar at the Cali-State University Fullerton during her PhD studies. Mntuyedwa likes to develop herself and always looks for opportunities to grow her academic career. As a mentee, she benefits from her institution's mentoring programme, which is meant to develop young emerging researchers where they are guided for publication to boost her academic profile. She has developed a multilingual booklet to assist first-year students who are struggling with academic writing. The booklet can be accessed here: https://www.cput.ac.za/newsroom/news/article/4415/multilingual- smart-writing-guide-for-undergraduate-students. She is working on publications base on her doctoral thesis to boost her academic profile as an emerging scholar. Mntuyedwa is passionate about writing on the first-year experience, which was also the subject of her doctoral thesis. Dr Disaapele Mogashana is currently a senior lecturer and in the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She was formerly a lecturer and researcher at the Institute for Science and Technology Education (ISTE) at UNISA and a lecturer in the Academic Support Programme for Engineering in Cape Town (ASPECT) at UCT. She holds a PhD in Engineering Education, MPhil, and BSc (Chemical Engineering) from the UCT. Her research interests are in engineering education, student success and first-year experience. Prof. Teboho Moja is clinical professor of Higher Education, New York University, USA. She is also a visiting research fellow at the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria, South Africa, and an extraordinary professor at the Institute of Post School Studies, University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Prof. Moja is a recipient of the Lifetime Achiever Award of the National Research Foundation of South Africa. She is JSAA’s Editor-in-chief. Prof. Karina Mostert is a professor in Industrial Psychology in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, South Africa. She conducted research on the subject of occupational health and well-being and focused on subjective well-being, burnout, engagement, work-home interference, 157 and strengths use. Her research focus shifted to the health and well-being of university students, with a specific focus on their experiences, engagement and psychological resources that can assist in optimal functioning and performance. She is leading the project StudyWell: Student Well-Being and Success at the North-West University. The project aims to develop a valid, reliable, culturally sensitive monitoring tool, informed by in-depth qualitative investigation, to assess and proactively monitor the study climate, individual traits, states and behaviours of students to inform targeted and cost-effective interventions. Charmain Naidoo has been a journalist for 35 years, during most of which she worked for Africa’s largest Sunday newspaper, The Sunday Times. During her time in newspapers she worked as a foreign correspondent in London and New York. She also edited both the Weekend Post and the Herald newspapers in Gqeberha. She currently works as an independent freelance specialist writer and is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. She lists her hobbies as travel and going to the theatre. Dr Annsilla Nyar-Ndlovu is based at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in South Africa, where she leads the South African National Resource Centre for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition (SANRC). She is a seasoned higher education professional, with over two decades of high-level senior management experience in South Africa’s higher education sector. Her recent senior management positions include senior researcher at the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO), a partnership between the Gauteng provincial government, UJ and the University of Witwatersrand (Wits); research manager at Higher Education South Africa (HESA), now Universities South Africa (USAF) and currently, she is director at the SANRC. Dr Birgit Schreiber is a member of the Africa Centre for Transregional Research at Alberts-Ludwig-Universität Freiburg, Germany, and the vice-president of IASAS and onthe JSAA Editorial Executive. She is a senior consultant for Higher Education Leadership and Management and vice president of IASAS. Dr Schreiber received the Noam Chomsky award in 2022 and has been awarded international excellence awards for her research on student affairs by NASPA and ACPA. Prof. Maureen Nokuthula Sibiya is Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Engagement at Mangosuthu University of Technology, Umlazi, South Africa. She has previously served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning at the Durban University of Technology and as head of the nursing department from 2011–2017. During the last year of her head of department tenure, the Nursing Education Association (NEA) awarded Prof. Sibiya an Excellence Award for Leadership in Nursing Education. Prof. Sibiya is a full professor and an NRF-rated researcher. 158 Patricia C. Timmons is a doctoral candidate in the Community College Leadership Program at Morgan State University, Maryland, in the United States, where she focuses her research on diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education, as well as college student experiences with student mobility, mental health, and student success and access. Currently, she is engaged in her dissertation project, investigating the experiences of African-American community college students with global student mobility and its impact on their personal growth, academic and professional careers. Patricia holds a Master of Education degree in School Guidance Counseling from Cambridge College and a Bachelor of Science from Coppin State University. Alongside her scholarly pursuits, she brings her expertise to the role of area administrator at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, MA. With a passion for fostering inclusive environments and supporting students’ holistic development, Patricia is dedicated to advancing knowledge and practice in higher education. Dr Nokuthula Tlalajoe-Mokhatla is an academic head and senior lecturer in the Division of Student Learning and Development in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Her research interests around student support, development and leadership focus on social learning, social integration and transitioning into higher education. Through credit-bearing modules, she also helps undergraduate Health Sciences students develop essential lifelong learning skills and graduate attributes. Prof. Lynette J. van der Merwe is a medical practitioner specialized in health professions education and leads the Division Health Sciences Education at the University of the Free State in South Africa. She is involved in health professions education research, postgraduate training and supervision and faculty development. Her research interest is the holistic development of current and future healthcare professionals. Clarisse van Rensburg is a registered industrial psychologist currently employed at JOBJACK – an online platform that offers a groundbreaking automated solution for entry- level recruitment. She completed her industrial psychology internship at SPAR, a large retail company in Johannesburg, South Africa. She completed her master’s degree in industrial and organisational psychology at the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), South Africa. Her research interests are in life satisfaction, first-year students and psychometrics. Dr Angelique Wildschut is chief research specialist in the Equitable Education and Economies research division of the Human Sciences Research Council and a research associate in Sociology at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Her expertise is in the sociology of professional groups with a specific focus on the medical and nursing professions, artisans, and gender. She has studied different forms of social and structural exclusion and access as they translate in the transition from higher education into 159 the world of work, analysed by the variables of gender, race, sex, identity, skills and capabilities. Relatedly, her work has dealt with the role of occupational milieus and identities and the construction of symbolic boundaries by different occupational groups to establish and maintain privilege in society.