Dr. Rashida Crutchfield is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and an advocate committed to amplifying the voices of marginalized communities through research and service. Prior to her work at CSULB, she served on the staff of Covenant House California, a shelter for 18-to-24-year-olds experiencing homelessness. This experience blossomed a love and passion for this student population.
Dr. Crutchfield was a principal investigator for the California State University Office of the Chancellor study on food and housing security. Her work has been instrumental in the development of programs and services for students experiencing housing and food insecurity at all 23 CSU campuses. She has supported the development of specialized program opportunities for students. Her continued research and advocacy on basic needs for students has garnered statewide and national attention. She has provided input on state policy and provides consultation and support to agencies, and higher education staff, faculty, and administrators across the nation.
Dr. Crutchfield has authored or co-authored many articles, including “The starving student narrative: How normalizing deprivation reinforces basic need insecurity in higher education” and “Jumping through the hoops to get financial aid for college students who are homeless: Policy analysis of The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007” in Families in Society. Co-authored with Drs. Ronald Hallett and Jennifer Maguire, her text Addressing Homelessness and Housing Insecurity in Higher Education: Strategies for Educational Leaders is used as a manual for developing programs and services to support student basic needs across the country.
Her areas of practice and research focus on student homelessness in higher education, basic need security for students, and social work community practice.
