Tags: Core


Meseret Hailu

Dr. Meseret F. Hailu is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia (UGA). She is exploring two lines of research concerning the experiences of undergraduate Black women in different geographic settings: East Africa and the United States. Her primary research agenda investigates how articulations of identity shape educational retention and reflect institutional culture.…


Christian Michael Smith

Christian Michael Smith studies class and race stratification, with particular attention to higher education as a site where this stratification can be reinforced or ameliorated. His research applies quasi-experimental designs and other causal inference strategies to U.S. national surveys and large, statewide education databases. Christian has published his research in a variety of academic journals across disciplines, including Social…


Jennifer M. Blaney

Jennifer M. Blaney, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia. She completed her Ph.D. in higher education from UCLA and previously served on the faculty at Northern Arizona University and Idaho State University. Dr. Blaney's research primarily focuses on how community college transfer can function as a mechanism for advancing gender equity in computing and other STEM fields.…


Naomi Norman

Dr. Naomi Norman joined the McBee Institute in August 2023 as the director of the Governor's Teaching Fellows program. Norman retired from the University of Georgia in spring 2023, after serving for several years as an associate vice president for instruction. She is a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor in Classics and was the director of UGA’s Excavations in Roman Carthage. As the AVPI, she oversaw many of UGA’s student success…


Emily Chen-Bendle

Emily Chen-Bendle is the Associate Director of Distance Learning at the McBee Institute, serving the Institute’s Executive Ed.D. in Higher Education Management, Online M.Ed., and Governor's Teaching Fellows programs. Emily’s professional background includes teaching experience in both community college and university settings, as well as industry experience as a marketer in both non-profit and for-profit organizations, including Target…


Robert K. Toutkoushian

Dr. Robert Toutkoushian, Associate Director of the McBee Institute and Professor of Higher Education, holds a Ph.D. in economics from Indiana University and specializes in the application of economic theories and quantitative methods to problems in higher education. Prior to joining the McBee Institute in 2009, Dr. Toutkoushian held a faculty position in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Indiana University, he worked…


Amy E. Stich

Amy E. Stich is an associate professor and graduate program coordinator at the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education and an affiliate faculty member with the Interdisciplinary Qualitative Studies program at the University of Georgia. Stich uses sociological perspectives and qualitative methodologies to study the mechanisms that stratify and reproduce inequality in higher education. Her research has been supported by the…


Erik C. Ness

Erik Ness is director and professor of higher education at the McBee Institute of Higher Education. Previously, he served as an assistant professor and coordinator of the Higher Education Management program at the University of Pittsburgh and as a policy analyst for the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. He earned a B.A. in political science from North Carolina State University, an M.A. in comparative and international education from Loyola…


Libby V. Morris

Libby V. Morris is the Zell Miller distinguished professor of higher education and faculty advisor to the Institute's Executive Ed.D. program. Professor Morris also serves as the executive director for the Georgia College Advising Corps, an affiliate of the National College Advising Corps, which places recent college graduates in high schools to assist underserved students with the college search, financial aid, and application processes. …


Timothy R. Cain

Tim Cain joined the McBee Institute in 2013. Prior to that he was a faculty member at the University of Illinois, where he coordinated its higher education program. He earned his B.A. from Duke University, his M.A. from The Ohio State University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. Much of Professor Cain’s research explores historic and modern issues involving academic freedom, student activism, and unionization in higher…
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