Ph.D. 2019 In addition to her temporary appointment at the Institute, Melissa Whatley continues to serve as an assistant professor of international and global education at the School for International Training's Graduate Institute where her instructional portfolio will focus on using quantitative research methods to improve accessibility and inclusivity with diverse students. Before joining SIT, Whatley was at North Carolina State University’s Belk Center, conducting research as a postdoctoral scholar on the community college campus outcomes and culture. Her quantitative research provided ways for community college policies to diversify enrollment and improve access to international education, and her research retained a focus on study abroad opportunities and the larger social and policy restraints that affect student involvement. Whatley's recent work has appeared in journals such as Research in Higher Education, American Educational Research Journal, and Journal of Studies in International Education. In 2023, Whatley received the NAFSA Innovative Research in International Higher Education Award. She was the 2018 recipient of the Association of International Education Administrators' Harold Josephson Award for Professional Promise in International Education and was also recipient of the Institute of Higher Education's Thomas G. Dyer Outstanding Dissertation Research Award (2017-18) and Zell and Shirley Miller Fellowship (2018-19). She earned Bachelors of Arts in Romance Languages, Spanish, and Linguistics and a Master's of Arts in Romance Languages from the University of Georgia. Contact Information Email: melwhat@uga.edu
