https://vanitanaidoo.com/home daily 1.0 2026-06-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b17adb0a99be1e065e4950/e82f599f-7f75-4ead-8d6e-4b89555b7fa0/Screenshot+2026-06-25+at+5.35.40+PM.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b17adb0a99be1e065e4950/e65b2eba-b9f2-45cc-afdf-c12d024cd334/VN+ID+Photo.jpg Home - About Me https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b17adb0a99be1e065e4950/c471a360-e1e4-4834-b49d-6e63a7d86e41/1691084729079.jpg Home - Make it stand out Photo Source: NYU's former University Heights Campus in the Bronx https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b17adb0a99be1e065e4950/b3c415ec-eae8-46a0-a79b-542c0e726845/9780367672805.jpg Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b17adb0a99be1e065e4950/28327b8e-5c4a-4a56-b701-82edf0f3ea0d/Screenshot+2026-06-25+at+6.07.43+PM.png Home - Photo Source: A Place for Chapel Hill's Silent Sam I spent the 2020 lockdown teaching remotely at the State University of New York. During this period, I explored the impact of historic forms of oppression from a regional perspective. Witnessing national policies and the normalized hate speech targeting BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and immigrants influenced my second project, a comparative analysis of two historic Southern universities. From 2021 to 2022, I conducted studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Georgia. By conducting multiple focus groups and collecting over 2,800 survey responses, I learned about the contemporary student experience. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b17adb0a99be1e065e4950/dfd4abb2-8d52-4a7f-9bc2-be5f8a1415a4/9781032453453_p0_v1_s1200x1200.jpg Home While my initial research examined how Eurocentric values were transmitted through design choices, this study focused on how students developed a sense of belonging, well-being, and community at these campuses through contact with nature and historic campus design. I aimed to capture how marginalized groups experienced the pandemic, education, and social movements on their campus in the shadows of Confederate statues. My manuscript, “Green Space as a Foundation for Student Wellbeing in Higher Education,” published by Routledge in June 2025, served as the basis for my next project on the experience of green space at SUNY Old Westbury in New York. My article, “Understanding Student Experience of Campus Green Space Post COVID-19,” was published in the Journal of American College Health. This suburban university, with its expansive landscape, served as an interesting case study of the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC experiences at a predominantly white institution. At this campus, there was a noticeable racial dimension to how students navigated the environment; therefore, feedback from non-white participants offered unique insights into the relationship between engagement with green space and marginalized identities. In "Intersectional Identities, Inequality, and Public Green Space", I translate my scholarship into a policy proposal on inclusive planning practices. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b17adb0a99be1e065e4950/5110ea09-1f02-4b94-95a9-a8873280b097/1752868578974.jpeg Home - Contact me drvanitanaidoo@gmail.com https://vanitanaidoo.com/contact daily 0.75 2026-03-11