If you identify as a lifelong learner and crave discourse with like-minded individuals…

If you have ever felt alone or adrift in your advising practice and are looking for some focus…

If you would like to nerd out on a topic that you care about with a community of peers…

Then ACE Reads is perfect for you!

ACE Reads is an initiative that seeks to provide intellectual and communal spaces for colleagues to engage with scholarship on topics that relate to advising. ACE Reads was designed to build community through collaborative study; practice theory as it pertains to topics of interest within the advising community at UCLA; and theorize practice by connecting readings to advising tools, strategies, and resources.

Please stay tuned for updates and Like/Follow  the ACE Reads Facebook Page to stay connected!

ACE Reads v2.0 One Discussion Group 2023-present

ACE Reads transitioned to one larger super group that explores diverse topics rather than multiple small reading groups with set areas of focus.
Please note that any excerpts shared here are for discussion group use only and is not meant to be redistributed.

2024 Theme: “Learning from lived experience” as explored through memoirs.

  • Facilitated by Steph Bundy, an Undergraduate Advisor in English, and Jaclyn Robin, an Undergraduate Advisor in Neuroscience
  • WINTER: Chapter 4: “Economics Learned, Not Taught,” of Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education by Stephanie Land (author of Maid, which you may have read or seen on Netflix.)which recounts the author’s return to college while she balances parenting and providing for her young daughter. If time allows, we encourage you to start the book at the beginning, and to keep reading/listening if you’re enjoying it!
    1. “Origins- A Mutant from Planet Cripton”
    2. “Origins- The Americans with Disabilities Act”
    3. “Access- One of Those Aha Moments”
    4. “Access- Why Disabled People Drop Out”
  • SUMMER: Inspired by the Olympics, we’ll be reading an excerpt of UCLA legend Arthur Ashe’s memoir, Portrait in Motion—A Diary.We chose three short excerpts: the first highlights Mr. Ashe’s role in creating the Association of Tennis Professionals and his budding advocacy in South Africa. The second focuses on recollections of his childhood in Richmond, Virginia. And the third features a bit of tennis geekery, just for fun.Our Summer meeting will focus on the following (short!) sections linked here.
    •  “Preface” & “It is not the championship of the world”
    • “The Fun is All Gone” (second half of the chapter only)
    • “The Level of Expectations”

    We also recommend this short bio compiled by the Arthur Ashe Learning Center

  • FALL: We’ve chosen to listen to “Refocusing Basic Needs: The Student Housing Crisis in Higher Education.” This podcast episode from the Higher Ed Rewired team focuses on basic needs insecurity within the landscape of California higher education.  We will also be partnering with the Basic Needs hub in Strathmore to have a tour of the facilities after our in-person discussion on supporting our students with their basic needs.

2023

  • Facilitated by Annelise Werhel, a Graduate Advisor in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and Steph Bundy, an Undergraduate Advisor in English!
  • WINTER – We will be discussing student basic needs in light of the new Basic Needs center opening soon in the Strathmore building. In the spirit of trying new things, our “reading” for this meeting is actually a podcast. The episode is titled “Talking Basic Needs” from the “Talk Policy to Me” podcast put out by the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. You can find the podcast episode here. The transcript is also available on that page for those who would prefer to read rather than listen.
  • SPRING –  We will be discussing how to support parenting students at UCLA. Our “reading” for this meeting is actually a podcast! The episode is titled “How Universities are Failing Student Parents” from the The Higher Ed Spotlight podcast. You can find the podcast episode here (Season 1, Episode 6). The transcript is also available on that page for those who would prefer to read rather than listen.

ACE Reads v1.0 - Study Groups 2020-2022

ACE Reads

The vision was to connect like minded individuals to dive deeper into a topic close to their hearts through books, articles, and other readings.  It also provided opportunity for honing professional skills like self-motivated learning, curriculum building, and group facilitation.

ADVISING APPROACHES & THEORIES 

Do you want to be more intentional about how you advise our diverse student population? Do you want to feel more prepared for any kind of student interaction? Would you like to be a more scholarly advisor? Join us in the Advising Approaches and Theories study group as we sharpen our advising toolkit.  We will synthesize and evaluate best practices with the intention of applying these techniques in our valuable work with students

  • 2021-2022
    • Facilitators: Steph Bundy and Danielle Carreon
    • First Group Meeting: Wednesday, November 17th,  1:00pm-2:00pm via Zoom
    • First Reading: TBD
  • 2020-2021
    • Facilitators: Steph Bundy and Justin Javier
    • First Group Meeting: Thursday, October 29TH, 12:00pm-1:00pm
    • First Reading: “Difficult Dialogues, Privilege and Social Justice: Uses of the Privileged Identity Exploration Model in Student Affairs Practice” by S. Watt

ADVISING NOW: COUNSELING STRATEGIES IN THE CONTEXT OF CURRENT EVENTS

The goal of this group is to read and discuss current events, their impact on students, and best practices for working with students in the context of current events. Each meeting will focus on a different topic currently impacting students, from supporting students in times of increased political division/tension, to advising students in a hybrid model, to supporting new and transitioning students. The goal of this group is to provide a space to read and discuss advising literature on different topics as they become relevant to our field. Input from study group members on future topics is welcomed and highly encouraged.

  • 2021-2022
    • Facilitator: Annelise Werhel* (*If interested in becoming a co-facilitator, please contact Annelise at awerhel@lifesci.ucla.edu)
    • First Group Meeting: TBD- Availability poll forthcoming
    • First Reading: “Predictors of Stress in First Generation College Students” by Hembrecht & Ayers
  • 2020-2021
    • Facilitator: Annelise Werhel
    • First Group Meeting: Tuesday, October 27TH, 12:00pm-1:30pm
    • First Reading: Supporting Students Through an Election (article links to be provided by facilitator)

CULTIVATING YOUR COUNSELING SKILLS IN SUPPORTING FIRST-GEN AAPI STUDENTS

This study group focuses on how to be a mindful counselor/advisor for first-generation AAPI students as they have consistently been viewed with the model minority stereotype, grouping all 57 distinct ethnic subgroups into one label as Asian. In return, this phenomenon applied a false sense of identity that all Asians are portrayed to be smart, obedient, privileged, and successful, undermining and negating certain AAPI student population’s struggles (i.e., Southeast Asian Americans, undocumented students) such as internalizing identity crisis, finding a sense of belonging, navigating higher ed as first-gen, and searching for financial resources. This study group will discuss Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth Model as the foundation to discuss intersectionality and read narrative interviews of students conducted from qualitative research. The goal is to provide a space to discuss and utilize this group as a positive method of learning on how advisors/counselors can impact and support AAPI students by providing transparent resources, information, and conversation.

  • 2021-2022
    • Facilitator: Jaine Park
    • First Group Meeting: Friday, November 19th,  11:00am-12:00pm via Zoom
    • First Reading: TBD

FEMINISM IN HIGHER EDUCATION

We will focus our study group on such topics as current events, the history of feminism, current use of feminism, feminist theory, intersectional feminism, future uses in academic advising.

  • 2020-2021
    • Facilitator: Shantel Daniels
    • First Group Meeting: Wednesday, October 21st, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
    • First Reading: Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot, Chapters 8 & 9, by M. Kendall

STUDENT BASIC NEEDS INSECURITY

Our group will engage with campus partners and emerging scholarship on basic needs insecurity in higher education in order to merge theory with UCLA specific knowledge in the practice of advising. Furthermore, we will work to identify and address the hurdles in our students’ experiences that limit their engagement with resources that address basic needs insecurity.

  • 2021-2022
    • Facilitator: Sheehan Parker
    • First Group Meeting: Tuesday, November 30TH, 2:00pm-3:00pm (with overflow to 3:30pm) via Zoom
    • First Reading: “Leadership learning through the lens of social class” and “Who we are impacts how we lead: Social class influence on leader identity, capacity, and efficacy” by Ardoin & Guthrie
  • 2020-2021
    • Facilitator: Sheehan Parker
    • First Group Meeting: Wednesday, November 4TH, 9:00 am – 10:30 am
    • First Reading: “Parenting While in College: Basic Needs Insecurity Among Students with Children” by S. Goldrick-Rab, C. Welton, & V. Coca

WELLNESS IN THEORY & PRACTICE

Too often, we think of ourselves (and our students) as a mind with a body, instead of thinking we ARE our bodies and our bodies ARE us. This perception impacts our views of illness, health, disability, intellect, social economic status, race, and so much more. Join the Wellness study group this year as we examine the body’s role in our lives through an exploration of the works of Black poet Sonya Renee Taylor, author of The Body is Not an Apology and White researcher, Kelly McGonigal, author of The Joy of Movement: How exercise helps us find happiness, hope, connection, and courage.  

    • How does physicality and embodiment impact resilience?
    • How do we find joy in spite of violent systems of oppression?
    • What ideas or preconceived notions about The Body (or our bodies) impact our lives, explicitly & implicitly?
    • How are certain bodies excluded from wellness practices, research and cultural messages?
  • 2020-2021
    • Facilitators: Kelsey Duff and Jessika Herrera
    • First Group Meeting: Thursday, November 5th, 8:30 am – 9:30 am
    • First Reading: See details in description, above

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

  • Develop a practice of self-initiated scholarship
  • Explore advising scholarship and related fields
  • Assess and evaluate articles, studies, and sources
  • Critique existing academic advising scholarship
  • Implement new practices in both professional and personal contexts
  • Synthesize connections between theory, research, and practice
  • Identify and discuss gaps in existing scholarship
  • Formulate new theories, practices, and possible research

Additional Learning Outcomes for Facilitators

  • Develop a reading list/curriculum
  • Lead a collaborative learning community
  • Facilitate discussions about complex topics
  • Negotiate different perspectives
  • Conceptualize a deliverable

Have you read/watched/listened to something recently that has really impacted or inspired you at work and beyond?  Are there topics that we need to learn and talk about more?  We would love to hear from you: ace@college.ucla.edu

Committee Members

Current Committee Members

  • Alina Avila (College Academic Advising)
  • Stephanie Bundy (English)
  • Marian Gabra (Director)
  • Jacyln Robbin (Neuroscience)

Please email ace@college.ucla.edu to join the ACE listserv.