College of Education and Human Development

Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development

People

Cori Bazemore-James

  • Pronouns: she, her, hers

  • Affiliate Faculty, Higher Education; Assistant Vice Provost, Graduate School Diversity Office

Dr. Bazemore-James is a scholar-practitioner in Student Affairs with a research focus on centering Indigenous Knowledge to develop the functional area of Indigenous Student Affairs (ISA) and supporting Indigenous students and educators.

    DEGREES

    Ph.D., Education, College Student Affairs Administration, University of Georgia
    M.S., Industrial Organizational Psychology, University of Georgia
    B.A., Psychology, University of South Dakota

      AREAS OF INTEREST
      • Indigenous student affairs units
      • Native American student and staff identities and experiences in PWIs
      • Indigenous qualitative research methodologies

      Advising statement

        BIOGRAPHY

        Dr. Cori Bazemore-James (she/her) is an enrolled member of the Seneca Nation of Indians of Western New York and was raised in a Lakota community in South Dakota. She is also a proud member of the Alpha Pi Omega Sorority Inc., the country’s oldest Indigenous Greek letter organization. 

        Dr. Bazemore-James [pronounced: Bayze-more-James] is a scholar-practitioner in Student Affairs with a research focus on centering Indigenous Knowledge to develop the functional area of Indigenous Student Affairs (ISA) and supporting Indigenous students and educators in predominantly white institutions. She got her start in the field by co-founding the Office of Native Student Services at the University of South Dakota in 2006. She also has experience in the functional areas of Admissions, TRiO Programs, Multicultural Services and Programs, Student Affairs Assessment, and she now leads the Graduate School Diversity Office (GSDO) at UMN. Dr. Bazemore-James is the founder of the ACPA Indigenous Student Affairs Network (ISAN), the first national or international professional network of ISA educators, and has served on the ACPA Governing Board and the NCORE National Advisory Council. Based on her award-winning research, Dr. Bazemore-James has led the development of the first Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) Standards for the Indigenous Student Affairs functional area (released Jan 2021).

        Professional Affiliations

        ACPA—College Student Educators International

        MNACPA—Minnesota College Professionals Association

        NCORE—National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education

          AWARDS

          Advocate Award, Coalitions and Networks; ACPA–College Student Educators International, Chicago, IL, 2024

          Danielle Terrance Courage Award, Native, Aboriginal, and Indigenous Coalition; ACPA–College Student Educators International, St Louis, MO, 2022

          Marylu McEwen Dissertation of the Year Award, ACPA–College Student Educators International, Nashville, TN, 2020

          Distinguished Alumni Award, Tiospaye Student Council, USD, Vermillion, SD, 2019

          Outstanding Service Award, The Graduate School, University of Minnesota; Minneapolis, MN, 2019

          Outstanding Contribution to the Community Award, Indigenous Student Affairs Network; ACPA–College Student Educators International, Boston, MA, 2019

          Lee Knefelkamp Research Award, MNACPA–Minnesota College Professionals Association, Minneapolis, MN, 2019 

          Outstanding Contribution Award, Native, Aboriginal, and Indigenous Network; ACPA–College Student Educators International, Houston, TX, 2018

          Miller & Winston Dissertation Research Award, College of Education: Dept of Counseling and Human Development Services, UGA, Athens, GA, 2018

          SREB Doctoral Scholars Program Fellowship, Southern Regional Education Board, Atlanta, GA, 2015

          Dream Catcher Award for Campus Diversity  Enhancement, Office for Diversity, USD, Vermillion, SD, 2012

          Rosa Louise Parks Leadership in Diversity Award, Office for Diversity, USD, Vermillion, SD, 2006

            TEACHING

            Spring 2026: OLPD 8702—Administration and Leadership in Higher Education

            Advising statement

              PUBLICATIONS

              Bazemore-James, C., Evans, M., Oxendine, S., Hancock, R. L. A., Waterman, S., Mitrovich, S., Soto, J. (2021). Indigenous Student Affairs Standards. Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS). News release

              Bazemore-James, C. & Waterman, S. J. (2025 anticipated). Indigenous Participatory Action Research as Indigenous Research Protocol. In Mohajeri. O., Ocean, M., & Breeden, R. (Eds.) Critical Participatory Action Research in Higher Education. New York, NY: Routledge.

              Boyd, B. A., Flores Niemann, Y., & Bazemore-James, C. M. (2025 anticipated). Mental health intervention with Native American and Alaskan Native people. In F.L.T. Leong, G. Bernal, and N. T. Buchanan (Eds.). Clinical psychology in communities of color: Integrating research and practice. Washington, D.C.: APA Books. ISBN: 978-1-4338-4081-4

              Bazemore-James, C., Hancock, R.L., Oxendine, S., & Waterman, S. (2024). The Creation and Significance of the Indigenous Student Affairs CAS Standards and Guidelines. In Shotton, Waterman, Youngbull, & Lowe (Eds.). Developments Beyond the Asterisk: New Scholarship and Frameworks for Understanding Native Students in Higher Education, 1st  Edition. New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN: 9781032626253

              Bazemore-James, C. & Boyd, B. (2021). Decolonizing Campus Spaces to Include Mixed-Race Indigenous Students. In V. Brown, L. Combs, and M. Guerrero (Eds.). Beyond the Box: Connecting Multiracial Identities, Oppressions, and Environments. New Directions for Student Services, 2021(174), 9–13. https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.20382

              Akibar, A., Niemann, Y.F., Bazemore-James, C., Thomas, K., Dovidio, J. F. (2020).  Polarization, hyper-visibility, and isolation:  Experiences of racial/ethnic tokens in the workplace. In Veronica P.S. Nije-Carr, Yolanda Flores Niemann, and Phyllis Sharps (Eds.), Disparities in Academia: Accounting for the Elephant. Dorrance Publishing Co. ISBN: 978-1-6461-0641-7

              Bazemore-James. C. & Dunn, M. (2019). The Modern Era of Native College Student Support in Primarily White Institutions: Institutional Understanding and Support of Indigenous Student Affairs. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, DOI: 10.1080/19496591.2019.1654813.

              Waterman, S. & Bazemore-James, C. (2019). It’s More Than Us: Knowledge and Knowing. In E. S. Abes, S. R. Jones, and D. L. Stewart (Eds.). Rethinking College Student Development Theory Using Critical Frameworks. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.

              Means, D. R., Collier, J., Bazemore-James, C., Williams, B., Coleman, R., & Anderson Wadley, B. (2018). “Keep your spirit aligned”: A case study on Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer students defining and practicing spirituality. Journal of College Student Development, 59(5), 618-623.

              Bazemore-James, C., Shinaprayoon, T., & Martin, J. (2017). Understanding and supporting students who experience cultural bias in standardized tests [Monograph]. ACPA Commission for Academic Support in Higher Education. Winter 2016/2017 edition.

              Plaut, V. C., Thomas, K. M., Tran, N.M., & Bazemore, C. M. (2014). Diversity ideologies in organizations: An introduction. In K.M. Thomas, V.C. Plaut, & N.M. Tran (Eds.), Diversity ideologies in organizations (pp. 1–18). New York, NY: Routledge.

                PRESENTATIONS

                Selected

                Villegas-Frazer, M., Bazemore-James, C., Colegrove-Raymond, A., Little, J., Neddeau, B. (2022, May). Today’s Native Student Voice: Are We Hearing Their Needs? Pre-conference workshop presented at: National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE); Portland, OR.

                Muñoz, J., Bazemore-James, C., Burgess, B., Counts, P. (2021, November). Indigenous Voices in Higher Education. Webinar Panel presented at: Century College; White Bear Lake, MN.

                Villegas-Frazer, M., Bazemore-James, C., Torres, H., Strass, K., Pilcher, S., Torres, R. (2021, June). The Successful Native American Student Center: Addressing Wrap-Around Services for Native Students. Pre-conference workshop presented at: National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE); online conference.

                Montas-Hunter, S., Harmon, D., Bazemore-James, C. (2021, April). Women of Color in Academia. Panel presented at: SREB Institute on Teaching and Mentoring; online conference.

                Jacobs, C., Bazemore-James, C., Scott, M., Hawkins, J., Hickman, A., Watters, J. (2020, November). Mental Health Within Indigenous Communities. Panel presented at: Multicultural Affairs and Social Justice Programs, Columbia College; New York, NY.

                Adjapong, E., Aho, R., Bazemore-James, C., West, J. (2020, November). Decolonizing Higher Education. Panel presented at: 6th Annual Diversity Summit, George Washington University; Washington, DC.

                Bazemore-James, C., Jacobs, C., Yazza, A., Chavis, T. (2020, November). Indigenous Lands & Practices: Native Cultures and Colonialism. Panel presented at: (Un)Common Grounds Conversation, High Point University; High Point, NC.

                Bazemore-James, C. & Reza, A. (2020, November). Indigenizing Allyship: Understanding the Modern Native American Experience in Higher Education. Webinar presented at: Professional Learning Opportunities Presentation, Inclusion, Diversity & Educational Achievement, Nazareth College; Rochester, NY.

                Springer, M., Bazemore-James, C., Oxendine, S., Reza, A., Sewell, R. (2020, March). Getting Published: An Indigenous Perspective about the Pathways to Publication. Pre-conference workshop presented at: American College Personnel Association (ACPA) Annual Convention; Nashville, TN.