Doctoral Student Samantha “Sam” Miller Gurski is a higher education administrator with extensive experience in continuing and professional education, workforce development, and lifelong learning program design. She currently serves as Director of Continuing & Professional Education at Columbus State University, where she leads programs serving adult learners, international students, and employer partners through professional certificates, industry-recognized credentials, testing services, and English language support for non-native speakers.Gurski’s work focuses on bridging higher education and workforce systems by expanding access to applied, career-aligned learning while navigating institutional structures that often privilege traditional academic pathways. She has led initiatives embedding workforce credentials into academic contexts, developing training programs for public sector and military partners, and supporting nontraditional and justice-impacted learners. Across these efforts, she emphasizes data-informed decision making, program sustainability, and cross-institutional collaboration.As a doctoral student, Gurski’s research interests center on the intersection of higher education and workforce development, particularly the stigma and structural divide between “traditional” and “non-traditional” learning pathways. She is interested in improving data collection and storytelling related to certificates and workforce credentials, aligning career competencies with traditional higher education frameworks, and examining how funding models and credentialing structures can better support diverse learning pathways and equitable access.Gurski earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of South Carolina and a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Columbus State University. She holds a project management certificate from the University of Georgia and is currently working toward certification through the International Coaching Federation. She is pursuing the Executive Doctor of Education degree at the University of Georgia’s Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education.She approaches life much as she approaches scholarship: with curiosity and agility, exploring ideas and places alongside her husband and their dogs.
