Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.)

Higher and Postsecondary Education
Teachers College, Columbia University
2013

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Counseling Psychology
James Madison University
2000

Education Specialist (Ed.S.)

Counseling Psychology
James Madison University
2000

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Psychology
James Madison University
1996

Higher education policy

Racial equity in higher education

Qualitative research methods

ELPS 605: Higher Education Policy

Utilizing a student centered challenge based framework, this course provides an overview of theories of American higher education policy and how policymaking considers (and does not consider) Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). In broad strokes, this course poses a series of challenges that require students to examine and propose solutions related to the contemporary landscape of policy making including the structures, spaces, actors, and stakeholders involved in the process of policy-making.  Course readings and discussions explore traditional, critical, and decolonial theories of the public policy process and unpack how higher education policy subsystems work to incrementally, and sometimes non-incrementally, influence education policy. Students are invited to critique the ways in which Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs)—Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Institutions (AANAPIs)— are included, excluded, and impacted by policy theory and practice.   Additionally, the course highlights various challenges facing MSIs and approaches and strategies higher education leaders can use to engage in policy making arenas in order to address these challenges and advocate on behalf of their institution. 

ELPS 606: Governance and Administration in Higher Education

Utilizing both a holistic and challenge based framework, this course draws on interdisciplinary scholarship and current events, to provide an overview of governance and administration within higher education. Special attention is given to the ways in which governance operates within Minority Serving Institutions and how it is shaped by and affects administration. Course content is designed to increase knowledge about various traditional, critical, and decolonial theories and practices associated with governance in higher education. Course readings, assignments, and discussions are designed to engage students in critical reflection about the micro and macro campus environment, and how it can be improved for greater engagement, wellness, collaboration, and innovation. This requires an examination of current challenges and solutions that consider role various constituencies, movements, and politics in the governance and administration of these complex organizations, particularly at Minority Serving Institutions.

ELPS 609: Advanced Qualitative Research Methods

Utilizing a challenge based framework, this course is an advanced doctoral-level seminar designed to provide applied knowledge and experience in developing and implementing an independent qualitative research study. Building on the ELPS 524 Introduction to Qualitative Research course, this advanced course will pose a series of challenges that support and improve development in reflexivity, perspective taking, approaches, trustworthiness, conducting qualitative analysis, and communicating your analysis to a wider audience. Traditional, critical, and decolonial theoretical and practical approaches for conducting a qualitative research project are explored.

ELPS 611: Community and Board Relations

Utilizing a challenge based framework, this course provides an overview and applied learning opportunity to explore the role of higher education trustee boards, higher education trustee board members, and trustee board relationships with various constituents. Course readings and challenge exercises are designed to promote critical reflection about board engagement with the campus and the greater communities in which they are situated. Special attention is given to trustee board dynamics and engagement at Minority Serving Institutions and ways institutional leaders can engage with the board to improve communication and shared governance.

American University Faculty Fellow; 2025-27

The Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL)

Federal Regulation Change § 668.14(b)(34); 2024

White paper cited in a federal regulation change prohibiting postsecondary transcript withholding when a balance is due.

HBCU Faculty Fellow - Propel Center; 2023-24

Selected as member of competitive inaugural professional development program to support the incorporation of technology into inclusive pedagogy.

Minority Meta-Analysis Fellowship; 2020-22

AERA- Spencer Foundation; Selected for competitive professional development program for enhancing skills in meta-analysis.

Critical conversations

Critical conversations: Black scholarship in a white academy

Black Scholarship in a White Academy offers important perspectives on how Black faculty and their scholarship have been historically devalued within the academy, particularly in predominantly White academic spaces. Using anti-Blackness theory as a framework, contributors discuss how White hegemony operates to undervalue and obstruct Black scholarship and faculty.

Outcomes based funding and race in higher education: Can equity be bought?

Outcomes based funding and race in higher education: Can equity be bought?

This book examines how Performance or Outcomes Based Funding (POBF) policies impact racial equity in higher education. Over the last decade, higher education has become entrenched in a movement that holds colleges and universities more accountable to its supporters. There are pressures to answer questions about student outcomes and performance, the value of education, the effectiveness of instructors, and the ability of existing leaders to manage efficiently and effectively. It is within this climate that states have adopted POBF policies. Through POBF, public colleges and universities receive state funding through formulas that no longer rely solely on student enrollment, but are instead based on student outcomes. This book provides an overview for policymakers of how racial equity has been addressed, the impact of these approaches, and recommendations for moving forward. 

Performance Funding for Higher Education

Performance Funding for Higher Education

Written by leading authorities and drawing on extensive interviews with government officials and college and university staff members, this book describes the policy instruments states use to implement performance funding; explores the organizational processes colleges rely on to determine how to respond to performance funding; analyzes the influence of performance funding on institutional policies and programs; reviews the impacts of performance funding on student outcomes; examines the obstacles institutions encounter in responding to performance funding demands; investigates the unintended impacts of performance funding.

“All students matter”

“All students matter”: The place of race in discourse on student debt in a federal higher education policymaking process

We used Critical Discourse Analysis to examine the racial discourse within recent attempts to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. Specifically, we interrogated congressional markup hearings to understand how members frame student debt and the racialized dynamics embedded within. Our findings highlight three types of discourse: “All Students” Matter, Paternalistic, Race-Evasive, and Explicit Racial Discourse. We offer recommendations for research and policymaking.

Lifting the veil

Lifting the veil: Utilizing critical qualitative inquiry to demystify the public policymaking process

This article explores how critical qualitative inquiry can be used to examine the public policymaking process in ways that help demystify the process and open it up for interrogation and critique for greater democratic engagement. Critical questions are raised about which parts of the public policymaking process are hidden and underexplored and how researchers interested in advancing knowledge, justice, and empowerment for communities of color can use critical qualitative inquiry to “unveil” components of the process for greater advocacy and civic engagement.

Administrative perspectives on designing programmatic support for Black collegiate women in higher education

Administrative perspectives on designing programmatic support for Black collegiate women in higher education

This descriptive qualitative study provides a greater understanding about the approaches, challenges, and strategies associated with developing and sustaining affinity programs for Black collegiate women in higher education. This descriptive qualitative study provides a greater understanding about the approaches, challenges, and strategies associated with developing and sustaining affinity programs for Black collegiate women in higher education. Contextual forces and strategies that affect the sustainability of these affinity programs are explored. Implications for adopting these affinity programs and recommendations for future study are provided, with an emphasis on institutional responsibility to support Black collegiate women.

How to Survive and Resist Racial Oppression in the Academy

How to Survive and Resist Racial Oppression in the Academy

At the heart of the tenure and promotion system lies an emphasis on research productivity. However, black faculty members frequently find themselves disproportionately burdened with additional service obligations, which significantly encroach on their time for scholarly pursuits.

The Importance of Black Spaces in White Academia

The Importance of Black Spaces in White Academia

An epistemological approach is needed to build more inclusive environments, argues Blanca Elizabeth Vega in this excerpt from Black Scholarship in a White Academy