FSU Administrator Honored by National Magazine
Dr. Jason DeSousa, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Retention at Fayetteville State University (FSU), has been selected as one of the Top 40 Inspirers in America for 2013. The award is presented by InSpire Magazine, a national publication designed to enhance the lives of readers by providing inspiration messages and stories.
According to Professor Lee Jones, the magazine’s president and executive editor, DeSousa was selected for the honor because of his unrelenting and unconditional contributions to his profession and to the broader community. For his selection, DeSousa will appear in the next edition of InSpire Magazine.
DeSousa has established and directed specialized initiatives for the academic and personal success of African American males at several Historically Black Colleges and Universities, including FSU’s Male Initiative on Leadership and Excellence (MILE). A former co-chair of the International Center for Student Success & Institutional Accountability’s Internet-based “African American Male Student Persistence and Success Community of Practice,” DeSousa has established enriching co-curricular programs that have focused on principled leadership, character development, civic engagement, service-learning, and social justice, including the Savannah State University Center for Student Leadership and Character Development and the Morgan State University Institute for Student Leadership, Character Development, and Outcomes.
A considerable career highlight was participating in a two-year national study (“Documenting Effective Educational Practices”), which was spearheaded by The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Institute, of 20 colleges and universities with higher-than-predicted graduation rates. The study culminated in the publication of Student Success in College: Creating Conditions that Matter of which DeSousa was an associate co-author. He is past president of the National Association of Student Affairs Professionals (NASAP), served as the association’s assistant editor of The NASAP Journal, received its Benjamin L. Perry Award, and is currently a member of its Foundation Board.
DeSousa earned a doctorate in higher education administration at Indiana University Bloomington, a master’s in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University, and a bachelor’s degree in sports administration from Morgan State University. His publications, professional presentations, selected invited professional presentations, grants, and professional distinctions reflect an interest and expertise in student engagement models, student cultures, and the participation of African American students in higher education.
FSU is the second-oldest public institution in North Carolina. A member of the University of North Carolina System, FSU has nearly 6,000 students and offers degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
For more information, call (910) 672-1474.