‘Honoring the collective wisdom that students bring’
Clint-Michael Reneau, vice president for Student Affairs.
Clint-Michael Reneau believes all people want answers to three questions.
Do you hear me?
Do you see me?
Does what I say matter?
At NIU, he said, Huskies should know that the answer to all those questions is yes.
That principle of validation and intention has guided him throughout his career and into his new role as the vice president for Student Affairs.
“I believe that we have a responsibility to create a culture of care for our students,” he said. “That culture of care takes into consideration the ideas of mattering and marginalization, trying to ensure we help students understand they matter. We must be very aware and do the necessary work of understanding which students are in the margins and how can we center them and create a space where they feel they belong.”
Appointed to the position on June 16, Reneau comes to DeKalb with two decades of work and innovation in higher education and secondary education at a diverse variety of institutional contexts.
His successful career has brought him across the country and beyond as he’s held leadership roles in Washington, California, Texas, London and elsewhere.
In the roughly two months since joining the Huskie family, he said he’s found a home at NIU and in DeKalb.
“I’m incredibly impressed with the dedication and determination of the NIU community,” he said. “What’s apparent to me is the Huskie community strives to center the student experience, and they strive to lead in ways that are equitable and just. What I appreciate about that is that it also considers honoring the collective wisdom that students bring to NIU from the respective communities from which they come.”
A consultant for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Reneau provides the association specialized services in numerous areas, including diversity, equity and inclusion, strategy and transformation, leadership effectiveness and institutional capacity.
Earning a Ph.D. in Adult, Professional and Community Education from Texas State University, he’s also worked as associate vice president for Student Affairs at California State University, Fullerton, where he helped create a formal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan and worked to successfully close equity gaps.
Along with his Student Affairs role at NIU, he’s serving as a clinical associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Higher Education. Raised by his mother, a special education teacher, and influenced by his aunt, a school counselor, Reneau is passionate about education—and honoring his calling. Whether it’s through teaching in a classroom or leading workshops with students, he wants to help Huskies “live to the realization of their highest, truest versions of themselves.”
Along with the collective wisdom of students, he said he aims to honor the intersecting identities of all Huskies.
Believing that any leadership role must be grounded in self-work and healing, the self-described “higher ed nerd” who enjoys podcasts about leadership has been on a LOL (Listening, Observing and Learning) tour the past couple months at NIU.
“I’m the only vice president that has the word ‘student’ in their title,” he said. “I take that very seriously. I think it’s a great honor. I truly want to reflect that work and serve as an ambassador, an advocate, and as a voice for students.”
Student Affairs plays a pivotal role in student retention and belonging, he said, and entails working with colleagues across campus in a collaborative spirit.
“We are all responsible for the retention of our students and should be intentional with creating programming that is evidence based and data informed in order to have the most significant impact on student success,” he said.
“We are working with students in a time when this country and the world is so highly polarized. A large intention of what I try to do is work with helping student to understand how to disagree, while also honoring and asserting the realization of human dignity.”
Reneau consistently tells students NIU offers the opportunity to find and define yourself. He can be heard telling the teams he leads, “We are facilitators of people in process.”
Among his priorities, he said he aims to amplify the university’s commitment to revitalizing Fraternity and Sorority Life on campus and reimagine new, meaningful ways to center health and well-being at NIU.
Additionally, Reneau is eager to introduce a new Code of Student Conduct and explore opportunities for engagement with students, while continuing to support and strategically plan how Student Affairs can provide deliverables for the University Goals.
“Our work is committed to a student’s growth, development and achievement,” Reneau said.
“We know a degree from NIU not only changes the life of the student graduating, but it changes the trajectory of the community from which they come. It’s mission critical to do all we can to be about the business of student success which gets the student across the stage to receive that diploma.”
