PhD, 2024 Philip Adams is a doctoral graduate from the Institute of Higher Education. He currently serves as the associate director for 49Connect in the University Center for Academic Excellence at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Philip previously served as the director of tutoring and learning support at Winthrop University. He has also held a role as associate director of the Center for Academic Achievement at Lesley University, in Cambridge, MA. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and Master of Arts in English from East Carolina University. His master’s degree research in writing centers led to his position as coordinator of ECU’s University Writing Center. In these roles, he regularly presented on program development, organization, and tutor training at conferences of the Southeastern Writing Center Association, the International Writing Center Association, the Council of Writing Program Administrators, and other national and regional organizations. Philip’s research interests now focus on organizational decision-making, particularly the influence of institutional identity and mission on the decision-making process. His dissertation will focus on this influence specifically at public liberal arts colleges. He is also interested in historical and contemporary arguments around the larger purpose of higher education, its role in professional and liberal learning, and its perception as a public good.
