Around IHE

IHE WELCOMES INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS

IN MARCH, THE INSTITUTE hosted guests from the Institute of Statistical Mathematics (ISM) in Japan and from North Carolina State University for a day of discussions on comparative research trends in higher education in Japan and the United States.

At sessions open to all IHE affiliates, professors Mio Takei, Keisuke Honda, Yuji Mizukami, and Yousuke Mizutani provided an overview of the work done at ISM, as well as presentations on research diversity and co-authoring trends on the Internet. Additional breakout sessions explored possibilities for future collaborations between the Japanese researchers and IHE faculty relating to institutional research productivity.

ISM is a national research institute in Japan that conducts studies relating to theory and applications of statistics and data science.

DR. ATTILA PAUSITS, an international expert on higher education management and modernization, visited the Institute for three days in May. While in Athens, he conducted informal roundtables with students and talks with university administrators from several units around campus. Before heading to Atlanta for discussions with Ed.D. students and alumni, he also delivered an Educational Policy Series presentation on European issues in higher education. Pausits has served on several international auditing boards in the Balkans and on the African continent. In addition to general leadership and administration topics, he is actively researching growth of real-time universities in Europe and development of student services.

At Danube University Krems, Pausits is head of the Center for Educational Management and Higher Education Development, and he also serves as the academic director of the Erasmus Mundus Master Program for “Research and Innovation in Higher Education” (MaRIHE). IHE, through the University System of Georgia, is currently the only U.S.-based associated partner of MaRIHE. This partnership developed from a 2016 presentation, given by Libby V. Morris and Sheila Slaughter, at a higher education seminar in Austria. This summer Pausits and his MaRIHE team received a transformative grant from Erasmus Mundus to support an expanded curriculum, more scholarships, and additional internship opportunities around the world.

In addition to his work at Danube University Krems and MaRIHE, Pausits has served on the executive committee of the European Higher Education Society (EAIR) since 2011. He recently co-edited a history of EAIR, covering 1979-2018.

IHE FACULTY PRESENT AT EAIR IN BUDAPEST

KAREN WEBBER gave two presentations at the 40th annual EAIR conference in Budapest, Hungary on August 26-29. One of those papers was co-authored by two IHE alumni: Chris Ferland (Ph.D. 2010) and Charles Mathies (Ph.D. 2010). Their paper presented best practices for data presentations and practical recommendations to prevent data misuse for a range of higher education researchers. Her second paper, co-authored with colleagues from South Africa and the U.K., provided a comparative review of professional development activities of major IR associations. Sheila Slaughter, IHE’s Louise McBee professor, gave a keynote address titled, “Current Constraints on Academic Freedom: Marketization and Nationalism.” She explored the fate of academic freedom at a time when all knowledge has been politicized.

ADJUNCTS BROADEN CONTENT AND ADD DIVERSITY IN EXPERTISE

Angela Bell

Angela Bell is associate vice chancellor for research and policy analysis for the University System of Georgia (USG) where she directs the design of data collection and analysis to support research, planning, and policy development and implementation. The Office of Research and Policy Analysis serves as the research arm of the University System and the Board of Regents, analyzing higher education and related state and national policy issues and their impact on the USG. Prior to her current position, Bell served as vice chancellor of policy and planning for the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, which develops and oversees a public policy agenda for the state’s 12-campus, four-year public higher education system. Bell also worked for the commission as a research and planning analyst.

Her research focuses on financial aid policy analysis and factors shaping postsecondary student success and time to degree such as student background, developmental education, transfer, and enrollment intensity. Bell completed her doctorate in higher education at the Institute of Higher Education in 2008. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University and a Master’s in language education from the University of Georgia.

Jennifer Rippner

Jennifer Rippner is a P-20 education law and policy expert who teaches K-12 and higher education law for several research universities (including as a visiting lecturer of education law in the School of Education at Indiana University). She also provides legal counsel to systems and institutions of higher education. Rippner’s academic research focuses on the policy and legal connections between K-12 and higher education.

She currently coordinates Georgia’s Alliance of Education Agency Heads, the state’s coordinating body for early learning through higher education. Her depth of knowledge in education policy and legal experience shapes her research and teaching. Among her roles at the state level, she served as Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue’s education advisor, director of the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, and executive director of policy and programs at the University System of Georgia. At the national level, Jennifer served as a senior policy and legal advisor at EducationCounsel, LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based education law and policy firm.

Rippner earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and Juris Doctor from the University of Florida and a Ph.D. in higher education from the Institute of Higher Education.