“Understanding and Measuring How College Faculty Include Diversity into Their Courses” Tom Nelson Laird teaches in the Higher Education and Student Affairs program of the Indiana University School of Education. Since 2003, Dr. Nelson Laird has worked on the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and its related surveys. Currently, he is the Project Manager for the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE) and studies teaching and learning issues using data from both NSSE and FSSE. Dr. Nelson Laird’s research focuses on effective teaching practices, student experiences with diversity, and deep approaches to learning. “The Privatization of Public Higher Education? Diversity, Change Over Time and the Role of Services” Sondra Barringer is currently a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at the University of Arizona. Her dissertation focuses on the funding and expenditure strategies of higher education organizations and the extent to which they are shaped by organizational and environmental factors including multifaceted competition, stakeholder influence and governance differences. Her other current research projects focus on the impact of competition on cross-subsidization in colleges and universities, the privatization of public higher education, the generation of social categories and their consequences for organizations, social enterprises and nonprofit organizations, and the history of causal inference in the social sciences. She has a M.A. in Sociology from the University of Arizona and a B.A. in Economics and Sociology from Baylor University. “Access Matters: How Financial Barriers Will Undermine Bachelor’s Degree Completion in America” Anthony Jones has over 20 years of experience in higher education. He currently directs the policy and research efforts at the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, a nonpartisan, independent committee created by Congress in 1986 to provide expert advice and counsel to Congress and the Secretary of Education on student aid and higher education matters. Anthony has been with the Committee since 2010. Prior work experience includes serving as the Grants & Campus-Based Section Chief in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid, a policy analyst for the Department’s Office of Postsecondary Education, Assistant Director of Financial Aid at NC State University, and Director of Financial Aid at Tusculum College. Anthony holds a B.A. in Speech Communication Studies from UNC-Greensboro, an M.A. in Adult Education from Tusculum College, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Higher Education at the Institute of Higher Education. “Whose Capital do I Study? Analyzing Community Cultural Wealth and Cultural Capital in Graduate Education” Michelle Espinois an assistant professor in the Student Affairs Administration Program in the Counseling and Human Services Department at the University of Georgia. Dr. Espino’s research interests include Latina/o educational pathways, public policy pertaining to minority-serving institutions, member experiences in culture-based fraternities and sororities, and the intersections of race, social class, and gender in higher education. Prior to her graduate study, Dr. Espino served as the coordinator of Student Programs at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. She earned her master’s degree in College Student Personnel at Bowling Green State University in Ohio and her bachelor’s degree in International Relations from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. Type of News/Audience: 2012 IHE Report
