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Karley Riffe

Blurred image of the arch used as background for stylistic purposes.
PhD, 2018

Karley Riffe is an assistant professor of Higher Education at the University of Cincinnati. 

Riffe researches changes to the academic profession in the United States and specifically the the implications of academic appointment type at public, comprehensive institutions. While pursuing her degree, Riffe contributed to three externally-funded projects with IHE faculty members. After her May 2018 graduation, she accepted a faculty position at Auburn University.

She was the recipient of the J. Douglas Toma Excellence in Scholarship and Service Award in 2017 for her academic achievements and institutional engagement, and she was also selected to be a graduate student representative for Division J (Postsecondary Education) of AERA.

 “IHE has given me opportunity after opportunity to develop both as a researcher and as a member of the scholarly community,” she says. “My decision to pursue my doctorate here is consistently reaffirmed by my interactions with IHE students, staff, and faculty, and I look forward to building on what I’ve learned here after graduation.”

Karley Riffe has worked with Drs. Sheila Slaughter, Barrett J. Taylor, and Sondra N. Barringer on an NSF-funded project to evaluate how university trustees connect AAU institutions to the larger economy. Additionally, she served as a research assistant on a TIAA-sponsored project with Jim Hearn, which addresses the influence of the growing use of contingent faculty members on institutional outcomes. Riffe’s own research explores the nature of faculty work and the changing academic profession within different institutional contexts across colleges and universities in the United States.

News Featuring Karley Riffe

Graduates of the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education excel in many different areas of our field. Below are the alumnae that we are aware of who are currently teaching in higher education classrooms across the United States.

Karley Riffe, PhD 2018…

by Jewel Caruso

Karley Riffe (PhD 2018) announced her relocation from Auburn University to the University of Cincinnati. She will be joining the faculty as an assistant professor in higher…

by Larissa Lozano



Although there is substantial writing by academics from working-class backgrounds, there is little research on the relationship between social class and positions in academia. 

Karley Riffe (IHE PhD 2018) and Sondra Barringer (former postdoc) found significant and persistent differences in staff salaries across institutions of higher education, over time, and across occupational families.

A team of scholars with ties to the Institute "explore[s] trustees’ involvement in a qualitative comparative case study of four elite US research universities." 

Three doctoral students in the Institute of Higher Education were honored at a special awards luncheon hosted by IHE on October 6, 2017.

IHE doctoral student Karley A. Riffe has been appointed to serve as a Graduate Student Representative for Division J of AERA in 2016-2018. Division J Graduate Student Representatives are dedicated to serving Division J (Postsecondary Education) graduate…

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