I am an educator, scholar, researcher, and thought leader with nearly 20 years of experience in the field of higher education. Currently, I am an Assistant Professor in College Student Affairs Administration and Leadership in the Department of Counseling and Human Development Services at the University of Georgia. My research is focused on issues of how students enter new communities of practice as novices eventually becoming full participants.
Before coming to UGA, I was Assistant Director for Research, Grants, and Assessment at the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition which is located on the campus of the University of South Carolina, a role I held between 2012 and 2021. Previously, I worked in doctoral internships in the Office of the Associate Vice President of Student Affairs at Georgia Gwinnett College and in the Department of Student Affairs Assessment at the University of Georgia. I also worked full-time for several years in student affairs and housing roles at Utah Tech University, the University of South Carolina, and California College of the Arts. As a student affairs professional, my practice was focused on and guided by a commitment to student advocacy; a focus on the whole student, blending curricular and co-curricular success; a dedication to authenticity in interaction; a responsibility to hold students to appropriately high standards; and an unwavering obligation to creating socially just educational spaces.
Below you can find more information about my educational and professional background, professional involvement, teaching philosophy, and commitment to diversity and social justice.
Background
Education
Ph.D., College Student Affairs Administration, The University of Georgia, May 2012
Dissertation Title: Measuring Reported Learning from Supervised Practice Experiences of Graduates of Master’s Programs in Student Affairs: The CAS Supervised Practice Study
M.A.Ed., Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), May 2005
Thesis Title: Student Affairs Preparation Programs: Reported Learning Outcomes by Recent Graduates
B.A., Liberal Arts and Sciences, Utah State University, May 2002
RECENT PROFESSIONAL ROLES
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR RESEARCH, GRANTS, AND ASSESSMENT - NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER FOR THE FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE AND STUDENTS IN TRANSITION
2012 – 2021
DOCTORAL INTERN, OFFICE OF THE AVP FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS - GEORGIA GWINNETT COLLEGE
2010 – 2012
DOCTORAL INTERN, DEPARTMENT OF STUDENT AFFAIRS ASSESSMENT - UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
2009 – 2010
DIRECTOR, HOUSING AND RESIDENT LIFE - DIXIE STATE COLLEGE OF UTAH
2006 – 2009
Professional Involvement
Professional Service
Review/Editorial Boards
Journal of College Student Development, 2017-2022
Journal of The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, 2014-2017
Journal of Online Teaching and Learning, 2013-2016
College Student Affairs Journal, 2014-2016
Ad Hoc Journal Reviewer
Journal of Peer Learning, January 2018
Journal of General Education, November 2016, July 2019
Research in Higher Education, July 2016
Discussant
ACPA:
The Role of Community for Students, March 2018
Faculty and Student Interactions, March 2017
Student Affairs, March 2015
Student Learning, March 2014
ASHE:
Policies Supporting Marginalized Students, November 2014
Research Session Chair
ASHE:
Developing and Motivating Students, November 2017
Program Reviewer
ACPA Annual Convention: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020
Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Association for the Study of Higher Education: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
International Conference on The First-Year Experience: 2013
National Conference on Students in Transition: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
South African Conference on the First-Year Experience: 2016, 2017
Grant Reviewer
University of Missouri Research Board Internal Grant Program, May 2015, November 2014
Professional Organization Involvement and Leadership
ACPA, Commission for Admissions, Orientation, and First-Year Experience Directorate Board
Co-Chair, March 2018 – March 2020
Co-Chair Elect, March 2017 – March 2018
Sponsored Programs Lead, March 2014 – March 2017
ACUHO-I, National Housing Training Institute
Faculty Teaching Assistant, Summer 2011
Association of Intermountain Housing Officers, AIMHO College
Curriculum, Faculty, and Assessment Sub-committees, November 2007 – November 2009
Institutional Service
University of Georgia
College of Education - Curriculum Committee, August 2022 - Present
Student Personnel Association, Doctoral Member at Large, January 2011 – January 2012
University of South Carolina
Student Affairs Planning, Assessment, and Innovation Council, June 2012 – September 2018
Sophomore-Year Experience Working Group, January 2015 – June 2016
Univ. 101 Curriculum – Academic Policies and Resources, February 2015 – August 2015
Residence Life Staff Training Committee, May 2006 – July 2006
Housing Diversity Committee, August 2005 – July 2006
Housing Contract Appeals Committee , January 2005 – July 2006
Residence Life Student Staff Class Curriculum Committee, August 2004 – July 2006
Student Success Initiative Committee, August 2004 – July 2005
Georgia Gwinnett College
Student Integrity Board Hearing Panel, April 2011 – May 2012
Disability Services Office Self-Study Team, July 2011 – May 2012
Dixie State College of Utah
Exempt Staff Association, Vice President, July 2008 – July 2009
Diversity Committee, August 2008 – July 2009
Strategic Enrollment Management Committee, August 2007 – July 2009
ADA Committee, August 2007 – July 2009
Housing Contract Appeals Committee, January 2007 – July 2009
Professional Memberships
ACPA – College Student Educators International
American Educational Research Association
Association for the Study of Higher Education
International Association of Student Affairs and Services
NACADA
NASPA
Teaching Philosophy
I believe that education has the power to inspire and to be profoundly transformative. Teaching is a necessary part of the educational equation as experiences without direction are too open to deliver on that transformational and inspirational promise. As I have taught recent courses, I have thought about how I could create a learning environment in which the tools, knowledge, and culture of the classroom as an activity system could become a community of practice that is an extension of the world in which students will find themselves when they have completed their course of study. I believe that teaching and learning is a mutually constituted experience between the student and the educator in which both aptitude and a willingness to admit ignorance are on display. As a result, I see my role as something of a player/manager in which I must simultaneously direct the team while being a part of it. I believe that learning is a process of becoming, which involves matters of participation and identity; this requires me to be keenly aware of the uniqueness of the students in my courses and the valuable contributions each of them makes. I strive to make any educational endeavor I undertake a high-impact practice and I aim to include elements of good practice in education such as high expectations, investment of time and effort, meaningful interactions, and exposure to new and diverse perspectives.
A more detailed overview of my teaching philosophy is available to download.
For more information about my teaching experience, visit the Teaching section of this website.
Diversity and Social Justice
Early in my professional career, I had a moment of self-awareness brought on by a reading assigned to all staff members in university housing one summer at the University of South Carolina. This chapter caused me to reconsider my awareness, knowledge, and skills as it related to “diversity” and was a critical step down my path to considering higher education’s role in creating a socially just world, broadly, and my role in supporting student success for members of traditionally underrepresented population groups, specifically. More than that, it opened me up to greater amounts of humility through engagement in introspection and new perspectives.
This experience led me to seek out opportunities to serve on the diversity committees at the University of South Carolina in university housing and at Dixie State College. It has come up in other opportunities I have had, working on a self-study team with the disability services office at Georgia Gwinnett College and international work in South Africa. These experiences have become foundational as I develop and refine my research agenda and teaching. As I consider implications of my research and practice around programs that support student success, the question keeps coming up “who does this work for?” and “who has access?” While my research is not about underrepresented student groups on the surface, it is fundamental to my character as a scholar and a practitioner and I am committed to continuing to improve my awareness, knowledge, and skill in this area.
A more detailed overview of my commitment to diversity and social justice is available to download.