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by Jewel Caruso
Ben Cecil, PhD 2022, recently accepted a new position with Third Way as a senior education policy advisor Previously, Cecil was a research associate for the American Council on Education (ACE) based in Washington, D.C., while he was earning his PhD.
Third Way is a national think-tank that champions modern center-left idea. Cecil joins their higher education team that strives to "expand the conversation about federal higher education policy from focusing solely on cost to comprehensively prioritizing return on investment for students and taxpayers."
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
Kelly Rosinger, PhD 2015
Jim Morrison (EdD, 2011) was recently named the new chief strategy officer for the University of Oklahoma. This role will involve overseeing the coordinated implementation of strategic plans to “ensure university-wide alignment and progress across all three OU campuses.”
A research paper co-authored by Amy Stich and Melissa Whatley in 2020 recently appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Hee Jung Gong (PhD 2021) recently accepted a tenure-track assistant professor position in the department of educational leadership, policy and technology studies at the University of Alabama.
Danielle Buehrer (EdD, 2021) was elected to the Southern Association of College and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) Board of Trustees this past December.
In their annual meeting in December, Buehrer was voted in by the majority of the College Delegate Assembly. She started her three-year term on January 1st, along with the rest of the Class of 2025.
John Mitchell (EdD 2011) recently wrote an opinion piece in ITProToday called "Take a Ridge on the Workforce Rollercoaster." Mitchell uses a rollercoaster as a metaphor for the ever-changing job seeking environment, and how companies should change their mindset to adapt and be "armed with the best tools and resources on the hiring front."
Ben Cecil (PhD 2022) and Justin Jeffery (PhD 2021) co-authored an article recently published in the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Leadership Studies. The paper, "International Student Engagement: Closing Gaps and Internationalizing Student Affairs," was released in the December 2022 issue.
Tracey Ford (EdD 2002) has been named the next associate vice chancellor for student affairs at The University of Texas System. She will assume this position in late March 2023.
In her role as associate vice chancellor, Ford "will serve as a resource to student affairs leaders across the eight UT academic institutions and provide strategic direction in the support and expansion of programs addressing student affairs and campus life issues with a focus on student mental and physical health and well-being."
Kate Collier (doctoral student), Sondra Barringer (former post doc), and Karley Riffe (alumnus) appear in The International Journal of Higher Education Research. The paper, "University presidents as agents of connection: an exploratory study of elite presidential ties in the United States, 2005-2020," explores how university presidents form relations between their institutions and external organizations. Using data from elite universities from 2005 to 2020, their results show growth in these connections over time.
Lindsay Coco (PhD 2015) has been named the inaugural University Alliance Fellow for the University of Utah.
Coco currently serves as the special assistant to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies. In her 17 years of experience, she has built first-generation student programming, scholars' programs, rural student success programs, and an early start college program. Previously, she was the assistant director for initiatives at UGA.
Solomon Hughes (PhD 2013) was featured in UGAToday covering his Emmy-nominated HBO series Winning Time.
Hughes plays Kareem Abdul-Jabber, an iconic basketball player and social activist, who won a President Medal of Freedom. Hughes drew on personal experiences as a former player of the University of California-Berkeley, as a student and administrator in academic to hone his portrayal of Adbul-Jabber.
Rachel Burns (PhD 2018) was recently quoted in an article for the Dallas Business Journal, "New research underscores disruption caused by college closures."
Rhani Lott Choi (EdD 2020) joined the National Institute for Trial Advocacy as their education director in June 2022.
Angela D. Bell (PhD 2008) co-published an article with three other University System ofG Georgia faculty: Leslie E. Hodges, Donald L. Rubin, and Coryn Shiftlet. Their research, "Need-Based Aid, Participation in Education Abroad, and Program Type Choice" was published in the Journal of Student Financial Aid.
Art Malloy (EdD 2019) has been named the vice president for student affairs at the University of North Dakota and will start on January 9th, 2023.
Malloy is currently serving as associate vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He has been in the UNC System since 2019. Previously, Malloy was the dean of student success at the Savannah College of Art & Design.
On October 27th, President Joe Biden announced 14 key appointments to the National Board for Education Sciences. Among these individuals was Denisa Gándara, an alumnus of McBee Institute's PhD Program.
Torie Johnson (EdD 2017) recently accepted a position with Baylor University as the new associate vice president for strategic communication and initiatives. Johnson, who currently serves as the associate commissioner for academic relations for the SEC, will transition into this role effective November 28th.
Greg Wolniak, associate professor, and Sarah Burman, doctoral candidate, report the impacts of COVID-19-related campus closures on students' sense of belonging and academic self in their article, "COVID-19 Disruptions: Evaluating the Early Impacts of Campus." Published in the Journal of College Student Development, the article capitalizes on a pre-existing longitudinal survey that tracks student perceptions that began in 2017 and continued in 2020.
The Black Faculty and Staff Organization awards the Ed Wilker Memorial Egalitarian Award, which recognizes occupational excellence to UGA staff members yearly. McBee Institute alumni Narke Norton (MEd 2019) was this year's honoree.
Norton is currently the associate director for recruitment and diversity initiatives at the UGA Graduate School. In addition, he is currently pursuing a PhD. Norton also holds an associate of arts in political science (Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College) and a bachelor of arts in political science (UGA).
Heidi Leming (PhD 2013) kicked off a higher education podcast, "From the Vice Chancellor (VC)'s Shelf." Joined by other faculty and staff across the TBR System, they will discuss themes in the book Disruptive Transformation in Higher Education by Colin Stewart and Robert Dwayne Kelly.
Three McBee Institute graduates and a postdoctoral associate combined forces to research funding trends during the pandemic, Paul Rubin (PhD 2017), Meredith Billings (Postdoc Research and Teaching Associate 2017-2019), Lindsey Hammond (PhD 2020), and Denisa Gándara (PhD 2016).
An article based on this work was recently published in American Behavioral Scientist titled "State Higher Education Funding during COVID-19: Exploring State-Level Characteristics Influencing Finance Decisions."
Denisa Gándara (PhD 2016) released her first op-ed in Newsweek amid the large student loan forgiveness debate.
Charles Ambrose (EdD, 1989) was featured on the Complete College America (CCA) podcast CCA On the Air discussing student success at Henderson State University with CCA President Dr. Yolanda Watson Spiva.
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