Dear Graduates and Friends,

Happy holidays from all of us at the McBee Institute.

We've enjoyed a busy and productive semester with several students graduating and others progressing into candidacy, lively courses (including a new HBCU-focused one) in a reconfigured classroom, more impressive research, publications, and presentations by our faculty and students, and more occasions to engage in thoughtful conversations across our community.

Best wishes to you during this holiday season and always.

With gratitude,
Jim Hearn

Interim director, Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education
Professor of Higher Education

CONGRATULATIONS, GRADUATES!

Derek FInke celebrates with major professor Timothy Cain on the dais.

Congratulations to our fall graduates! We celebrate their accomplishments so far and look forward to seeing the ways they continue to contribute to our field and the larger society.

Ben Cecil- is a research fellow at the American Council on Education (ACE) in Washington, DC. His dissertation explores internationalization of higher education and the pressures on Confucius Institutes.

Derek Finke- works in Housing and Residence Life at University of Colorado Boulder. For his dissertation, he  investigated media coverage of sexual assaults on campuses.

Gabriela de Paula- completed her masters degree in December 2022. She is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and aspires to help students transition into higher education. 

Jihye Lee- focused on the strategies and impacts of financial aid packages on public institutions of higher education in her dissertation. She is a postdoctoral fellow at the Research Foundation of the CUNY/Hunter College.

Mark Mayfield- serves as the assistant to the director at the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center state office. He researched nuances in policy and decision-making strategies at nonprofit, private, Christian colleges.

Stephen Mayfield- is a researcher at RTI International. He studied the usage, prevalence, and perceptions of student fee assessments at community colleges for his dissertation.

Maggie Parker- works in UGA's Office of the Senior VP for Academic Affairs and Provost where she is associate director for accreditation. Her dissertation explores the impact of accelerated learning credits on time-to-degree statistics.

Charles Sanchez- researches issues of college access and success and affordability at the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP). His dissertation investigates ways college outreach programs improve college access and completion.

Lori Tiller- is a public service faculty member at the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development. She co-leads Embark Georgia, a statewide initiative to support youth, who have experienced foster care or homelessness, through their postsecondary goals. 

Read more about our talented graduates

ADVISERS BOOST POSTSECONDARY APPLICATIONS 

Georgia College Advisers offer creative programming to encourage college applications

Since 2008, November has been recognized as Apply to College Month in Georgia. Many colleges in the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia participate by waiving application fees throughout the month.

Our college advisers made the most of the window by offering innovative events all month long to encourage students to plan for their futures.  

During Instant Decision Day at Cedar Shoals High School, Azariah Partridge (2nd year adviser) hosted admissions staff from four universities who could give students admissions decisions on the spot! 

As of November 20th, 34% of the seniors in GCAC schools have completed at least one college application, a thirteen percentage-point increase over last year!

Read more about these initiatives

Cain Provides Perspective on UC Strike

Tim Cain was counted by numerous news outlets for his expertise

Timothy R. Cain, associate professor at the McBee Institute, provided context and insight to media coverage of the monthlong strike at the University of California for major print, radio, and television outlets.

Cain is quoted in articles for Time and AP News (and other regional publications).  He was interviewed by Marketplace (podcast 11/29/2022 at 15:00) and could be heard on NPR stations across the country.  You can also see him on the PBS News Hour.

"We’re in a moment where there is a great deal of labor activity among workers who are not well treated by larger systems, and I think a number of people working in higher education see themselves as part of that larger disruption,” said Cain. 

Much of Professor Cain’s research centers on historic and modern issues involving academic freedom, campus activism, professionalization, and unionization.

Read more about these initiatives

Williams Receives Public Policy Award

Krystal L. Williams with her Excellence in Public Policy in Higher Education plaque

Krystal L. Williams, assistant professor at the McBee Institute, was presented with the 2022 Excellence in Public Policy in Higher Education Award at the ASHE Conference in November. The annual award recognizes an individual who shows excellence in their research in academic scholarship and policy practice that helps advance the public policy discourse in higher education.

Williams' strong equity-focused research inquiries into race and education policy in STEM, structural barriers, and contributions of HBCUs were cited by the selection committee in the ceremony.

Read more about Dr. Williams' work

UNM President to Deliver 2023 McBee Lecture

Garnett S. Stokes is the 18th president of the University of New Mexico

President Garnett S. Stokes is a thought leader, educator, and innovator in higher education. She began her service as president at the University of New Mexico in May 2018 after senior roles at the University of Missouri and Florida State University.

Stokes has deep ties to the University of Georgia, having served as a professor in the psychology department for nearly three decades, including seven years as dean of UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

Mark your calendars and plan to attend on Monday, May 1.

Read more about past McBee speakers

The University of Georgia Foundation is registered to solicit in every state and provides state specific registration information at http://www.ugafoundation.org/charity.

communication preferences | privacy policy   | view in browser