Tags: Alumni

Le-Quita Booth
Le-Quita Booth: A Life of Prevailing Optimism

When Le-Quita Booth enrolled in the Ed.D program at the University of Georgia’s Institute of Higher Education (now the Louise McBee Institute) in the mid-1980s, she had no difficulty articulating her motivation. She was told that she needed a doctoral degree to be considered for the promotion she wanted. So, she pursued and obtained the degree while continuing to work full time. Her career is full of such examples of her pragmatism and…

Rachel Burns
Burns Quantifies Impact of College Closures

by Larissa Lozano Rachel Burns, MIHE alumna, will lead and develop a multi-year research initiative to quantify the impacts of college closures in partnership with the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. In her new role as senior policy analyst at the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), she also will support other organization priorities in policy evaluation and research. Burns earned her Ph.D. in Higher…

Andy Brantley Burnout in Higher Education
Brantley Seeks Causes of Professional Burnout among Chief Academic Officers

by Larissa Lozano Brantley conducted interviews with chief academic officers and uncovered eleven key insights into what exactly makes chief academic officers stay or leave their positions. Brantley cites recent research indicating that 47% of CAOs have been in their positions three years or less and the median term is around six years.  Brantley has personal experience with challenges of higher education administration. He served as…

Kellie McElroy Hooper
Hooper Named Dean at Augusta Technical College

Dr. Kellie McElroy Hooper has been appointed as the first dean of the School for Public and Professional Services at Augusta Technical College.  “I believe learning is a lifelong experience that can be life changing. Learning promotes growth, curiosity, and increases self-confidence,” Hooper says.  Hooper received her Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from the McBee Institute of Higher Education in 2021. She has built an…

Cohort 6
Fall Graduates 2021

The McBee Institute proudly announces the following students earned their degrees during the fall 2021 Ahmed Banya (EdD)- senior operations manager at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Parris Baker (MEd)- fiscal affairs manager in the UGA VetMed Center of Vaccines and Immunology  Andy Brantley (EdD)- president and CEO, College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) Marti Brick (EdD)-…

Joy Blanchard
Blanchard Looks at Coaches' Salaries

Joy Blanchard, LSU professor and MIHE graduate, admits that she calculated how long it would take her university's football coach, at his salary, to earn her salary for "a little dark fun." But the answer, 2.6 days, is even more stark than anticipated. The deeper truths behind her question go beyond finances and into overall priorities and what the mission of a university really is. Full article at: https://www.chronicle.com/article/colleges-…

Taylor and Cantwell
Taylor Challenges UF Logic in Chronicle Article

Barrett Taylor (PhD 2012) is quoted extensively in an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education on the University of Florida controversy surrounding the barring of professors to testify in litigation against the state (‘I’m Speechless’: What prompted the U of Florida to tell professors not to testify?) Members of the university administration defended the denials on loose "conflict of interest" claims. "As UF is a state actor,…

Angie Royer
Zoomtable Explores Changes to Campus Worklife

McBee IHE graduate Angie Royer led a Zoomtable on campus work forces, Adapting and Thriving in an Ever-changing World. The pandemic forced faculty and students to dive into remote learning, and it introduced many staff members and their supervisors to teleworking. Royer shared emerging research and data to unpack how higher education institutions and other industries are incorporating lessons learned from the pandemic into increased work…

Kanler Cumbass
Cumbass Focuses His Career on Student Finances

Following his graduation in May 2021, Kanler Cumbass (MEd) started as a post-graduate intern for the Education Strategy Group (ESG). He hopes to work with administrations to uplift marginalized student populations. His main research interests include Title IV/financial aid policy, and the impact student finances have on degree attainment. Cumbass said, "[T]he organization believes that high-quality higher education leads to economic growth and…

Denisa Gandara
Gándara Returns to Undergraduate Alma Mater as Professor

Denisa Gándara (PhD 2016) joined the University of Texas as an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy. Her research agenda broadly explores higher education policy and finance, with an emphasis on populations historically excluded from and underserved in higher education. Gándara is a William T. Grant Scholar and the recipient of a Dissertation Fellowship from the Ford Foundation and the National…
Subscribe to Alumni

Support us

We appreciate your financial support. Your gift is important to us and helps support critical opportunities for students and faculty alike, including lectures, travel support, and any number of educational events that augment the classroom experience. 

Click Here to Learn More About Giving

Every dollar given has a direct impact upon our students and faculty.