Current Students in Higher Education

Research Interests: Student success/retention, staff and faculty professional development and retention, graduate student feelings of belonging and retention

Dissertation Topic: The role of non-teaching higher education staff and student rapport in undergraduate students’ perceptions of mattering

Research interests: Education Policy, Higher Education Fundraising/Advancement and Government relations with Higher Education

Career goal: To work with advancement and government relations in a central administration position at a top university

Research interests: Institutional Research, Survey Research

Career goal: Hopes to serve in Institutional Research leadership after graduation

Research Interests: Fraternity and Sorority Life, Women’s Empowerment, Organizational and Cultural Change

Career Goal: Upper Administration (Dean of Students or Vice President of Student Affairs)

Research Interests: Veterans in higher education, specifically the immediate and longitudinal impact of college on student veterans, the impact of transition programs and services on student veterans, and the validation of student veteran services and programming through empirical study.

Career goal: Provide overall leadership and direction for student veteran programming and services at a research intensive university (Student Veteran Center Director).

My interests are in higher education policy, equity, organization, and governance.

Research interests: Organizational culture in higher education, policy implementation, and Title IX.

Dissertation topic: The influence of organizational culture on sexual assault policy implementation

Current: Serving as an Investigator with the PSU Office of Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response

Research Interests: Women in Higher Education Leadership, Recruitment and Retention of Diverse Populations in Higher Education, Mental Health Impact on Student Affairs Professionals, Residential Curriculum and Education

Career Goals: Senior Administrator in Student Affairs 

Research Interest: Examining the identity development and resilience of LatinX students, intersected with the complicated reliance of success through a post-colonial, anti-racist, and critical lens. 

Career Goal: Tenure-Track Faculty member 

Research interests: Critical internationalization studies, ethical international education, and comparative and international education. 

Career goals: Continue examining and evaluating internationalization practices of colleges and universities as a researcher/faculty member. 

Research Interests: The experiences of Black Caribbean women in accessing and completing higher education at predominately white institutions, as well as trauma and its impacts on minoritized university students’ outcomes and success in higher education. 

My research interests: I am interested in social stratification and higher education and am currently using an organizational lens to explore how colleges and universities engage with the parents/families of college students to understand how that might stratify the college experience.

Research Interests: Research interests include student learning outcomes, ties between institutional- and state-level accountability and assessment efforts, and the impact of policy implementation on the postsecondary campus.

Career Goals: Academic leadership on a liberal arts college campus

Research Interest: My research interests include understanding the stories of Black Men currently in Higher Education Doctoral programs at Historically White Institutions and how doctoral socialization either propel or hinders the successful completion of their programs. I am also interested in understanding how Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is shaped within the college environment and what is being done to ensure that students of color are provided with both access, support, and creating a sense of belonging especially first-generation student populations. 

Career Goals: My plans after acquiring my doctorate are to work at an institution serving as a Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion aiding in helping my department level the playing field in ensuring that students of color are successfully thriving and not surviving in their college environment. I plan to teach some courses focused on understanding the Black Student Experience in College and the Dismantling of Whiteness. It is my hope to one day become a Vice President of Student Affairs or a Dean of Students focusing on equity-driven practices aiding in a fully invested understanding of equality from the viewpoint of educational development not rooted in racism and white supremacy. 

Research Interests: My current research interests are internationalization at home in higher education, geopolitical shifts and their impact on the internationalization of higher education, and cross-border education.

Career Goals: With over 25 years' experience working globally with higher education institutions, I believe international initiatives supported by research are critical for creating new opportunities and addressing today's global crisis's and social issues.  Bridging cultures and linking stakeholders globally are crucial for growing diverse networks, strengthening global knowledge, and impacting policy development.  As a result, I continually work towards and conduct research in the comprehensive internationalization of higher education.  I currently serve as a Research Assistant in Penn State Global, developing internationalization at home programs and resources, and I serve as a Research Associate on the Cross-Border Education Research Team (C-BERT).  As I continue my doctoral journey, I am seeking to connect in research projects with thinktanks and government entities globally to further bridge the work and roles of practitioners, policy makers, and scholars.