Alumni News

The rapid rise in popularity and monetization of Esports (virtual simulations of sports, competitive games, and military operations) in American culture is drawing the attention of higher education leaders. Welch Suggs (PhD), Jennifer May-Trifiletti (PhD student), Jim Hearn, and Julianne O'Connell (PhD student) prepared a research brief for the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) that highlights potential benefits and challenges of structuring formal Esports programs at institutions of higher education. 

Bryan McAllister-Grande and Melissa Whatley (PhD 2019) produced a white paper for NAFSA entitled "International Higher Education Research: State of the Field."

McAlister-Grande and Whatley survey the "major research questions and traditions that have informed research," and "explore theoretical, empirical, and methodological questions and challenges that [currently] face the field [of international higher education]." They also include recommendations for future research frameworks to build an "empirical revolution" to prepare more policy-relevant investigations..

Melissa Whatley (PhD 2019) and Amy Stich study inequalities in access to study abroad opportunities. Their latest research findings are published in The Journal of Higher Education online.

For this mixed-methods study, they reviewed how institutions communicated with students about these programs and how policies and practices mitigated or perpetuated disparities in participation among diverse student populations.

Welch Suggs (PhD 2009) shares his extensive experience and research of intercollegiate sports with Inside Higher Ed podcast series, The Key.

He notes that there are "still more question marks than periods" and reviews the many disparate forces factoring into athletic program decisions as some schools start athlete workouts while others shutter programs.

A team of scholars with ties to the Institute "explore[s] trustees’ involvement in a qualitative comparative case study of four elite US research universities." 

The paper, "How University Leaders Shape Boundaries and Behaviors: An Empirical Examination of Trustee Involvement at Elite US Research Universities," by Sondra N. Barringer, Barrett J. Taylor, Karley A. Riffe, and Sheila Slaughter appears online in Higher Education Policy this month.

IHE graduate Kathy R. Pharr (EdD 2011) assumes the dual responsibility of chief of staff and interim vice president for marketing and communications on July 1, 2020. She has served in a variety of roles throughout her 27 years at UGA, and most recently as chief of staff and associate vice president for institutional affairs.

Dr. Tracey Ford (Ed.D. 2002) was named vice provost and dean of student affairs at University of North Carolina School of the Arts, effective July 1. 

Denisa Gandara (PhD 2016) and Amanda Rutherford find evidence that performance-based funding models lead to fewer first-generation enrollments.

Their investigation of public 4-year institutions between 2001-2014 appears in Educational Researcher. 

https://doi.org/10.3102%2F0013189X20927386

The Atlanta Business Chronicle recognized Ron Newcomb (Ed.D. 2011) in its list of top 100 metroAtlanta leaders in education. The Who's-Who list appeared in the May 18 issue.

Newcomb is president of Chattahoochee Technical College, the largest technical college in Georgia. 

Nathan Moore (PhD 2020) and Rachel Burns (PhD 2018) explore the extent, drivers, and means by which economic development has become a focus of public postsecondary institutions. Using event history analysis and neo-institutional and strategic action fields theoretical frameworks, they track the adoption of vice president-level positions devoted to economic development among the members of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU).

Anthony Leigh (EdD 2019) was honored by the Interfraternity and Panhellenic Councils of Huntingdon College as Staff Member of the Year.

Anthony, who serves as the senior vice president for student and institutional development, tries to celebrate the many ways that Huntingdon students involve themselves in the life of the college. 

Twenty IHE graduates and faculty members from across the US met on Monday to talk through experiences and responses to the COVID-19 crisis. Dr. Knapp shared leadership insights and inspiration drawn from his career, including his tenure as UGA president in the 1990s.

Graduates, currently serving in a variety of roles in public universities, private colleges, state systems offices, and professional associations, participated in the strong discussion.

On Friday, March 6, President of SHEEO Rob Anderson spoke at IHE on the role and strategic directions of SHEEO. 

Co-chair Jeff Stein (EdD 2017) offered his thanks to the 40-member Strategic Planning committee for their contribution to the newly launched 10-year plan for Elon University.

“Thank you for your dedication to this community and to building our shared future," said Jeff at a reception launching the new strategic plan. "If you ever have doubts about the future or what higher education will look like in 2030, here is your answer and inspiration," Jeff concluded.

An article by a team of IHE faculty, students, and an alumnus appears in Educational Policy OnlineFirst. Lindsey Hammond, Philip Adams, Paul G. Rubin (PhD 2017), and Erik C. Ness use rhetorical analysis to examine how 11 influential intermediaries package their college completion policy messages.

The article, entitled “A Rhetorical Analysis of Intermediary Organization Documents on College Completion Policy,” is an extension of a five-state comparative case study into the roles that intermediary organizations play in fostering research utilization among policymakers.

The Journal of Higher Education published a new paper by Sondra N. Barringer (former IHE postdoc), Barrett J. Taylor (PhD 2012) & Sheila Slaughter. Their research tracks the influence and status of trustees at higher education institutions since the 1970s.

The Wilson College Board of Trustees announced on Monday, October 28 that they had unanimously selected Wes Fugate (PhD 2012) to serve as the college's 20th president. Board chairperson, Dr. Barbara L. Tenney, said, “Dr. Fugate’s multi-disciplined experience in higher education, as well as his passion for small, private liberal arts institutions, makes him the perfect candidate for Wilson’s presidency."

Kelly Rosinger (PhD 2015) is a co-author on the National Bureau of Economic Research's working paper "Nudging at Scale: Experimental Evidence from FAFSA Completion Campaigns." The research team tested the national scaleability of programs designed to remind students to apply for financial aid and included a data sample of over 800,000 students. While these interventions show positive results at local level, the team found no impact at the state or national level.

Rachel Burns (PhD 2018) & Karen Webber are published in the Journal of Student Financial Aid (vol. 48, issue 3).

While the overall story is that education-related debt is on the rise, Webber and Burns seek to add greater detail to the trend by comparing disciplinary groups. They used NPSAS 2012 data to examine graduate student debt for STEM versus non-STEM students who were enrolled in a master’s or doctoral degree program in 2012.

Justin Jeffery (IHE PhD student), Dominique Quarles (PhD 2019), and Sayamon Singto (Division of Academic Enhancement) have received a grant to explore “the connection between acculturation and educational attainment in first and second generation immigrant students at UGA.” The investigators hope to use the findings to inform UGA’s campus support strategies and programs. In addition to promoting academic success, the team will consider how students develop their cultural identities while in another country.

IHE is well-represented in a grant-funded research project, Enhancing Students’ Financial and Educational Success through a Virtual Reality Experience. The principal investigators, Greg Wolniak (IHE), Grace Ahn (Department of Advertising and Public Relations), Stan Jackson (IHE PhD student), and Anthony Jones (PhD, 2019) will evaluate if scenarios experienced in virtual reality (VR) settings can change student behavior and alter financial and educational decision-making.

Timothy Letzring (EdD 1994) has been appointed senior associate provost for academic affairs at the University of Central Florida. His broad portfolio includes academic program development, planning, and assessment. He will partner with stakeholders throughout campus to improve the effectiveness of the UCF educational experience.

Ali Hamilton (MEd 2016) co-authored a research article published in the spring 2019 issue of Frontiers: the Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad with colleagues Donald Rubin, Michael Tarrant, and Mikkel Gleason.

Leasa Weimer (PhD 2013) served as the principal investigator for a study commissioned by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture that investigated the internationalization at home (IAH) "state of arts" in Finnish higher education and research institutes.

Kelly Rosinger (Ph.D. 2015) co-authored an article in Educational Researcher (volume 48, issue 5) on potential pitfalls of using Pell Grant eligibility to estimate income data in research. Rosinger and co-author, Karly S. Ford, acknowledge the attractiveness of using grant status as a commonly available marker for identifying lower income students. Drawing comparisons with the free and reduced-price lunch data, the authors note that researchers have investigated the appropriateness and limitations of lunch data.