McBee Institute faculty, doctoral students, alumni, and former postdoctoral associates recently presented at the 2026 American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Annual Meeting, held April 8–12 in Los Angeles, California.
The McBee Institute’s participation at AERA 2026 included paper sessions, roundtables, poster sessions, and an Ed-Talk, totaling 25 sessions across the conference. One highlight was the active participation of our doctoral students, whose presentations contributed to national conversations on a wide range of topics, including STEM education, tuition, and the value of higher education.
Collectively, the McBee Institute community’s engagement in the AERA annual conference demonstrates a commitment to advancing scholarship in the field of higher education.
Check out a full list of the AERA contributions by McBee community members below:
Jonathan Barefield (Ph.D. student)
Différance in the Differentials: A Deconstructive Reading of Differential Tuition
(Roundtable, Presenter)
Trisha Barefield (M.Ed., 2018)
Generative Knowing: Learning from Experiences Differently (Poster Session, Co-Presenter)
Generative Knowing: Learning from Experiences Differently (Ed-Talk, Co-Presenter)
Sondra Nicole Barringer (former postdoctoral associate)
Colleges and Universities as Place-Makers: Understanding the “Community” in Higher Education Community Engagement (Roundtable, Co-Presenter)
Jennifer M. Blaney (associate professor) and Kaitlyn N. Stormes (postdoctoral associate)
A Latent Class Analysis of University Degree Trajectories Among Computer Science Transfer Students (Roundtable, Presenters)
Ashley B. Clayton (former postdoctoral associate)
College Advising for Undocumented Students in California Title 1 High Schools
(Paper Session, Co-Presenter)
Denisa Gándara (Ph.D., 2016)
Racial Equity in State Funding for Community Colleges (Roundtable, Co-Presenter)
Hee Jung Gong (Ph.D., 2021)
Examining Pell Grant Influence on College Completion in Alabama Higher Education
(Roundtable, Co-Presenter)
Institutional Context Matters: Multilevel Analysis on Institutional Civic Climate and Faculty Civically Engaged Teaching (Roundtable, Co-Presenter)
Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM): A Comparative Analysis of Degree Attainment (Roundtable, Co-Presenter)
Meseret F. Hailu (assistant professor)
Factors Associated with Persistence in STEMM: The Case of Undergraduate Women in Ethiopian Universities (Roundtable, Co-Presenter)
Qualitative Research SIG Closed Mentoring Session (Discussant)
Juyoung Kim (Ph.D. student)
Gendered Transition from STEM Education to Workforce: Access Does Not Guarantee Success (Paper Session, Co-Presenter)
Jaden Alexandra Mikoulinskii (Ph.D. student)
Faculty Issues amid Political Change in Academia (Roundtable, Chair)
Power, Property, and the Campus Conquest: Historiographical Perspectives on Higher Education and Eminent Domain (Ed-Talk, Presenter)
Jaden Alexandra Mikoulinskii (Ph.D. student) and Jordan Mackenzie Mitchell (Ph.D. student)
Power, Property, and the Campus Conquest: Historiographical Perspectives on Higher Education and Eminent Domain (Poster Session, Presenters)
Jaden Alexandra Mikoulinskii (Ph.D. student), Jordan Mackenzie Mitchell (Ph.D. student), and Abigail Affholter (Ph.D. student)
Shuttered Halls: Synthesizing the Silent Collapse of American Higher Education (Roundtable, Presenters)
Candice Peters (M.Ed., 2019)
Outmanuevering Academic Landmines: Gendered Literacies as Survival Maps for Black Women in the Academy (Paper Session, Co-Presenter)
Naming the Unseen Wounds: Introducing Spirit Lynching as Public Spiritual Violence in Higher Education (Symposium, Presenter)
In the Aftermath: Institutional Support as a Moderator of Faculty and Staff Mental Health After Hurricane Helene (Roundtable, Co-Presenter)
William Redding (Ph.D. student)
Supporting Rural Scholars: A Case Study Examining Students’ Experiences and Perceptions of Rural Support Programs (Roundtable, Presenter)
Karley Riffe (Ph.D., 2018)
Doctoral Student Support Networks: Acknowledging Community (Roundtable, Co-Presenter)
Christian Smith (assistant professor)
Hidden Advantage along the Pipeline: Wealth and Educational Transitions from High School through Graduate School (Paper Session, Co-Presenter)
Mary Kate Steinbeck (Ph.D. student)
Student Protest, Crisis Response, and National Narratives: Using Historical Perspective to Interpret the Present (Roundtable, Co-Presenter)
Annie Carlson Welch (Ph.D. student) & Amy Stich (associate professor)
Shifting Perceptions of the Value of Higher Education Among Low-Income Students at a Selective University (Paper Session, Presenters)