Tags: General News

McBee Institute of Higher Education faculty member Timothy R. Cain and McBee alumnus Barrett J. Taylor (Ph.D., 2012) have been named fellows at the American Association of University Professor’s new Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom. Launched as part of a $1.5 million grant from the Mellon Foundation, the Center is designed to explore the current challenges to academic freedom, counter the surge in restrictive legislation, and push back…

Dr. Ronald Johnson (EdD, 2023) has been named the Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Chief of Staff at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).  As Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff, Johnson will join the university’s executive leadership team and advise the president on administrative processes, special projects, and strategic initiatives that benefit the campus community. Johnson assumed these duties on…

In May 2023, the Huntingdon College Board of Trustees named Dr. Anthony Leigh (EdD, 2019) as the college’s 15th President. Leigh’s tenure as president will begin on July 1, 2024.  Leigh has been a member of the Huntingdon College administration since 2009. Reflecting on his professional experiences at Huntingdon College, Leigh stated, “I’m blessed with a great staff that has helped me successfully serve in both roles. Serving Huntingdon…

The Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Meseret Hailu as assistant professor of higher education effective August 1, 2024. Dr. Hailu conducts sophisticated mixed methods research into student identity and educational opportunity and outcomes. She has done comparative studies into the experiences of undergraduate Black women in East Africa and the United States.  Dr. Hailu’s work has also…

The McBee Institute welcomes Jad El Ladiki as a special programs coordinator. He will primarily support the Executive Ed.D. and Governor’s Teaching Fellows programs. Jad is a 2022 graduate of the University of Florida, with a BA in Business Administration. Following his graduation from the University of Florida, Jad served as a Legal Clerk for a law office in Gainesville, Florida until he moved to Athens. Read more about Jad on his profile page.

by William Walker As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more mainstream, so too do challenges with thinking, teaching, and learning with AI. For example, in a recent essay published in The Chronicle of Higher Education ("AI detection is a business. But should it be a faculty business?”), José Antonio Bowen and McBee Institute fellow, C. Edward Watson, discuss the lack of accuracy that is associated with certain online AI detection tools.…

The Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education is pleased to announce the appointment of Christian Michael Smith as assistant professor of higher education beginning July 1, 2024. He joins the McBee Institute from the University of California, Merced where he has been a postdoctoral fellow in the Higher Education, Race & the Economy Lab since 2021. McBee IHE Interim Director Jim Hearn says, “Our faculty members are pleased to have recruited…

The Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Jennifer M. Blaney as associate professor of higher education effective July 1, 2024. “Dr. Blaney’s portfolio complements and expands existing curricular offerings and research opportunities for our students,” said Interim Director Jim Hearn. He continued, “Her appointment will strengthen the research, instruction, and outreach mission of the Institute…

This month marks the 10-year work anniversary of Megan Holloway. Megan joined the McBee Institute staff in April 2014 as Graduate Program Administrator. As her responsibilities steadily expanded, Megan was promoted in 2019 to her current position as Coordinator of Academic Affairs. Prior to her work at IHE, Megan served on staff with the UGA Disability Resource Center. This was her first professional position upon completing a master’s degree in…

From press release: Over the past two decades, numerous colleges have added football teams in a quest to add students, particularly male students, and to use the popularity of athletics to build their brands. However, new research from UGA’s Carmical Sports Media Institute and the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education finds that adding a football team does not give a college enrollment or tuition advantages over its peers.  The study…