Contact Information

Dr. Dustin Evatt-Young (he/him) joined UNCA in Fall 2021 as the Director of the Highsmith Student Union. Dustin leads the Highsmith team by providing strategic leadership and oversight of student engagement and activities, leadership development programs, and student union operations. He has worked in higher education for over twelve years in the areas of student leadership development, campus activities, career development, equity and inclusion, and young alumni engagement. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Leadership Studies, First-Year Seminar, and Student Affairs Administration. As a scholar-practitioner, Dustin’s research focuses on the intersections between whiteness, privilege, and racial equity and inclusion in higher education. He has presented sessions on topics related to equity and inclusion and student engagement at a variety of regional and national conferences. 

Originally from South Carolina, Dustin received his Doctor of Education (EdD) degree from Appalachian State University, a Master of Education degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the University of Vermont, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Integrated Marketing Communication from Winthrop University. In his free time, Dustin and his husband love exploring all the entertainment and cultural gems that Asheville offers from local opera and musical performances to hiking on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Publications

• Evatt-Young, D. & Bryson, B. (2021). “White Higher Education Leaders on the Complexities of Whiteness and Anti-Racist Leadership.” Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity (JCSCORE).
•  Evatt-Young, D. (2018). Whose Home? Critical Perspectives on Homecoming Programming. Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors (AFA) Essentials. Retrieved from https://www.afa1976.org/page/Essentials.
• Evatt, D. (2011). Deconstructing Masculinity: A Values-Based Approach. Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors (AFA) Essentials. Retrieved from https://www.afa1976.org/page/Essentials. 

Select Presentations

• Evatt-Young, D. (2021). Examining Whiteness and Anti-Racist Leadership in Higher Education. Presented at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE).
• Evatt-Young, D. (2021). Disrupting White Scripts in Higher Education. Presented at the National Association for Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Conference 
• Evatt-Young, D. (2021). Examining Whiteness in Fraternity and Sorority Life Advising. NASPA Fraternity and Sorority Life: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Institute.
• Evatt-Young, D. (2019). Unpacking Our Privileges: Critical Perspectives of Equity and Inclusion in Campus Activities. Presented at the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) National Conference, Columbus, OH.
• Evatt, D. (2018). White Noise: Examining Whiteness in Higher Education. Presented at the National Association for Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
• Evatt, D. & Parrish, E. (2017). No Voices Unheard: Embracing the Renaissance of Student Activism. Presented at the NACA National Conference, Baltimore, MD.
• Evatt, D. (2016). Leading with Spirit: Developing College Students’ Sense of Spirituality & Vulnerability. Presented at the ACPA International Conference, Montreal, QC, Canada.