2010web

The University of Georgia Institute of Higher Education

Report

Autumn 2010

Criticisms of Economics of Higher Education

Rob Toutkoushian explores the role of economic thinking in higher education

Ed.D. program’s first year focuses on global issues

Students travel to the Netherlands, study international entrepreneurship

Charles Knapp (right), IHE distinguished public service fellow, with Georgia Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle at the August meeting of the Executive Ed.D. program in Atlanta. Dr. Knapp interviews a different leader in state or regional education in his leadership series at each meeting.

Publisher

The University of Georgia

Director, Institute of Higher Education Libby V. Morris

Publication Coordinator Susan Sheffield

Contributing Writers Elisabeth Hughes Betz Kerley

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he Institute of Higher Education, founded in 1964, is noted for its multidisciplinary approach to teaching, research, and outreach, with particular emphases on policy and law, faculty and instructional development, and public service and outreach. The Institute offers the Ph.D. and the Executive Ed.D. in higher education, and students may earn an M.P.A. with a higher education specialization through the School of Public and International Affairs. The Institute also collaborates on projects and programs with the Franklin College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Education, the School of Law, and the Center for Teaching and Learning at UGA.

Designer & Graphic Artist Nick Ciarochi

Contributing Photographers Paul Efland, UGA Public Affairs Peter Frey, UGA Public Affairs Nancy Evelyn, UGA Public Affairs Larry Christenson, Ed.D. student

www.uga.edu/ihe FRONT COVER: Herty Field fountain on UGA’s historic north campus

In This Issue From the Director

Report

Director takes on new role

Autumn 2010

New and ongoing research

The University of Georgia Institute of Higher Education

Knapp, Buck boost charter schools 2010 IHE Fellows First year of advising corps

The first year of the Executive Ed.D. program Outstanding Alumni Outstanding Alumni

3 Randy Swing 19 Wesley Wicker 21 Angela Bell 23 Mark Kavanaugh 29 Chuck Ambrose

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A new book by Doug Toma Lumina CEO’s McBee Lecture UGA’s 1960s international focus International scholars at IHE Students beyond the classroom

Elizabeth Simonetti

Common Criticisms of the Economics of Higher Education

2009-10 IHE graduates Education Policy Seminars 2009-10

Rob Toutkoushian

Cameron Fincher’s legacy at IHE

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Miller Graduate Fellow named The gift that depends on giving

2 3 4 7 12 19 20 22 24 25 29 30 31 32 Autumn 2010

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From the Director LIBBY V. MORRIS

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n behalf of the Institute of Higher Education’s faculty, staff, and students, I bring greetings to our alumni, colleagues, and friends across the nation and around the world.

Fall 2010 marks the 46th anniversary of the Institute of Higher Education. Almost five decades from its inception, I believe the founders (including then President O.C. Aderhold) would be pleased with the research, service, and educational programs underway, and the national recognition we receive.

For the sixth consecutive year, our higher education program is ranked in the top ten nationally by U.S. News and World Report. For the past two years, the Institute ranked sixth among more than 100 programs. This placement by our peers recognizes the extensive and innovative research conducted

by IHE faculty, the quality of our doctoral program and students, and the influential positions held by our alumni. Please see the alums and students featured throughout this report who are only a small representation of our outstanding graduates and current students!

The doctoral programs in higher education are at the center of Institute activities. Our faculty members are committed to mentoring students, so it is not surprising that 16 students graduated from our Ph.D. program in 2009 and 2010. We also strive to offer stipends to full-time Ph.D. students, and in academic year 2010, 23 doctoral students will hold graduate research on campus. As you can imagine, these work experiences often create the paths to future careers. Plus, they make the Institute shine from the valuable work they do on campus!

In January 2010, to better serve the educational interests of senior managers and administrators working in colleges and universities, the Institute launched an executive doctoral program in Atlanta and enrolled 16 students in the first cohort. The program complements the Ph.D. residential program and offers a concentrated format to in-state and out-of-state students. Importantly, Institute faculty teach in both programs, and we are finding it invigorating to do so.

Professor Doug Toma and Dr. Elisabeth Hughes can provide more information about this executive program.

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IHE Report

And, not to brag too much, but I hope you will review the faculty research summarized on pages 4-6. Clearly, the Institute faculty are among the most talented in the nation. They serve on numerous boards for the leading journals and series in the field, e.g., Higher Education Management, Educational Researcher, Research in Higher Education, Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, New Directions for Institutional Research, and Innovative Higher Education. Their interdisciplinary reach is shown by their publications and venues for presentations, e.g., American Sociological Association, Midwest Political Science Association, NCAA, the Middle East and Northern Africa Association, and an EU Erasmus Mundus Fellow award. This fall, the Institute seeks to fill the Zell Miller distinguished professor position, and we are looking around the globe for the best candidate.

Please join us on November 3 at 10 a.m. for the 22nd annual Louise McBee lecture to be delivered by Dr. Nancy L. Zimpher, chancellor of the State University of New York. Like Dr. McBee, Dr. Zimpher brings a wealth of experience and accomplishments to the lecture series. Please mark the date on your calendar and watch for news about an alumni event in concert with the lecture.

Sadly, this year, we said goodbye to former director and Regents professor, Cameron Fincher. Over four decades, he nurtured the Institute, championed it in weak budget times and strong, and was unwaveringly committed to Institute faculty, staff, and students. We have “large shoes” to fill as we carry on the tradition. Please see our tribute to him on page 31.

Years do slip by quickly, so I hope you will include in your travel plans for 2010 and 2011 a visit to the Institute of Higher Education. And consider making a donation to one of the funds established to support the Institute or honor an individual. Again, I appreciate all that each of you do to support the Institute of Higher Education in word and deed.

Best wishes,

Director takes on New Role

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irector Libby Morris assumed a new role in early January 2010, when Provost Jere Morehead asked her to serve UGA as the vice provost for academic affairs.

Currently, she is wearing the dual hats of director of the Institute of Higher Education and vice provost. Morris became the director of the Institute in December 2006, following the retirement of Thomas Dyer. Libby is quick to note that the success of the Institute, and its number six ranking should be attributed to the internationally known faculty and the exemplary leadership provided by the former directors, including the late Cameron Fincher, Ron Simpson, Del Dunn, and Tom Dyer.

Upon her appointment as vice provost for academic affairs, Provost Morehead stated, that “Dr. Morris brings to the Provost’s Office unparalleled expertise in higher education from her work in the Institute of Higher Education.” Morris began her career as an assistant professor in the Institute and rose through the ranks to become professor and director.

When asked about the Institute’s past and future, Morris replied, “The Institute of Higher Education is a remarkable unit, where the entire faculty is dedicated to the scholarly study of higher education and to the application of knowledge.

So, faculty members publish in leading journals in higher education, serve on national review panels, consult with other colleges and universities, and collaborate internationally with peers in Australia, the Netherlands, China, and Norway, to name only a few places! I think the greatest change during my time at the Institute is the shift in audience and connections.

In the early years, we focused almost exclusively on the state and southern region, and at that time the larger perspective was the U.S. Today, our research and instruction has many more global connections and perspectives. Like corporate America, higher education is increasingly a global activity as students and faculty move across institutions through faculty exchanges, study abroad, and collaborative research.”

In her new role as vice provost, Morris is leading a campus-wide working group focusing on enhancing interdisciplinary activities at UGA. She also works closely with the Georgia Museum of Art, the Office of Faculty Affairs, the Performing Arts Center, and the associate provosts. She advises the provost on student academic honesty appeals, faculty appointments, and promotion and tenure cases.

When asked which of the many duties she enjoyed the most, she replied, “each has unique challenges and opportunities, and for me it is gratifying to work in a variety of areas and to support the university in the pursuit of its various goals and objectives. I am so very proud of UGA and how it has risen in various important rankings over the years, and I feel fortunate to have this opportunity.” 

Outstanding Alumni Chuck Ambrose (EdD, 1989)

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huck Ambrose has begun a new chapter in his life. After spending 12 years as president of North Carolina’s Pfeiffer University, fall semester marks the beginning of his new presidency at the University of Central Missouri.

Prior to his presidency at Pfeiffer, Ambrose served as executive assistant to the president of the American Association of State College and Universities.

“It was a great opportunity working directly on state and federal issues with over 400 college and university presidents representing public institutions across the country,” says Ambrose.

Asked his thoughts on making a change from a private to a public institution, Ambrose explains, “The public sector is required to focus on the financial challenges that many students face as they choose college. Alternative sources of revenue are required to maintain and strengthen quality, the institution’s story must be told to encourage educational access to an increasingly diverse population — these and many other attributes that are shared across sectors are the ones that are exciting to think about within the communities served by UCM.” Dr. Ambrose feels that there is no question that his experiences at IHE helped to prepare him for the challenges faced by a university president. “The breadth of courses and focus within those courses have provided value across every position that I have held. Most importantly, relationships with faculty and staff at both the Institute and the University of Georgia have and will continue to be the greatest value of my experience there,” adds Ambrose.

“If you are energized by the pace of change that higher education is leading and responding to, there has never been a time that innovative and creative leadership was more required to affect educational effectiveness and strategic leadership,” explains Dr. Ambrose. Asked what advice he would offer to current students, he says, “I would encourage you to finish your degree. Value in the Institute experience is found in many different ways — the relationships, course content and knowledge, your research and dissertation focus and, perhaps most importantly, your completed degree.” 

By Betz Kerley

Autumn 2010 3

New and ongoing research plays a vital role in the collective momentum of the Institute

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issue. Slaughter is co-PI with Amy Metcalfe on a Canadian Social Science Research Council grant to study gender and academic capitalism. Metcalfe and Slaughter have submitted an article, “Women in Postsecondary Education: Status Hierarchy and Pay,” based on their grant to Gender and Society. In all, she has acquired grants and contracts totaling more than $0.5 million for 2009-10.

Slaughter has made several invited presentations in Norway and Ireland and the U.S. An ■■ Sheila Slaughter continues research Erasmus Mundus Fellow (funded by the European Union), she spent several into issues of intellectual property, weeks at the University of Oslo, where commercialization of academic she taught a summer school course science and technology, research to EU students, entitled “Critique of ethics and academic capitalism. the Neoliberal University.” She is a She recently published “The Social member of the editorial advisory board Construction of Copyright Ethics and for Higher Education Management, and Value” in Science and Engineering two of her books have been translated Ethics, with G. Rhoades; “Policies into other languages: Academic on Institutional Conflict of Interest Capitalism: Politics, Policies and the at U.S. Research Universities” in Entrepreneurial University (with L. the Journal of Empirical Research on Leslie) was translated into Chinese, Human Ethics Research, with Maryann and Academic Capitalism and the New P. Feldman and Scott L. Thomas; Economy: Markets, State and Higher and “Research Commercialization” Education (with G. Rhoades) was in the International Encyclopedia of translated into Japanese.

Education (3rd ed.). She has several In August, Slaughter spoke at forthcoming publications: a book chapter with Gary Rhoades, “Markets the opening plenary session of the in Higher Education: Students in American Sociological Association Sheila Slaughter led the faculty in grant funding. the Seventies, Patents in the Eighties, in Atlanta. Her talk was entitled Copyrights in the Nineties, More Academic Capitalism in the “Collapsing Liberal Studies: The Demise of the Humanities, 2000s,” which will appear in P. Altbach, R. Berdahl and P. (some) Social Science and the Fine Arts.”

Gumport (eds), American Higher Education in the TwentyFirst Century: Social, Political and Economic Challenges (3rd ■■ Jim Hearn’s publications in 2009-10 included two book ed.); and “Academic Freedom, Professional Autonomy, and chapters: “Governmental Policy and the Organization of the State,” in J. Hermanowicz (ed.), The American Academic Postsecondary Education,” co-authored with IHE student Profession: Changing Forms and Functions. In addition, Austin Lacy and appearing in the Handbook on Educational she and Brendan Cantwell submitted an article to Higher Policy Research, and “Viewing Recent U.S. Governance Education, “Transatlantic Moves to the Market: United States Reform Whole: ‘Decentralization’ in a Distinctive Context,” and the European Union.” co-authored with Vanderbilt Professor Michael McLendon and Slaughter continues her research on an NSF grant that appearing in International Perspectives on the Governance of examines the way universities contribute to national income Higher Education. Hearn also continued his collaborative work growth. Her research group (Larry L. Leslie, Sheila Slaughter, with McLendon on state policy issues in higher education.

Barrett Taylor and Liang Zhang), has submitted an article This past year, Hearn was co-author for an article with based on the grant to the Journal of Higher Education. She also McLendon and Christine Mokher appearing in the Journal of submitted an invited paper, “Institutional Conflict of Interest: Higher Education titled “Partisans, Professionals, and Power: Issues Raised When Administrators Run the Universities as The Role of Political Factors in State Higher Education Firms,” slated for the November/Dec 2010 Academe special Funding.” Currently, Hearn and McLendon are working on a esearch is at the center of Institute life.

Instruction, graduate assistantships, professional development programs, and publications are all affected by the in depth research conducted by IHE faculty. Their research interests cover a wide range of areas including, but not limited to, state and federal public policy, international trends, finance and economic issues, organizational analyses and strategic management in higher education.

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IHE Report

Jim Hearn instructs students in his class on finance.

book on state policy issues for the Johns Hopkins University Press. Hearn also co-authored two research papers presented at major conferences. With Austin Lacy and Georgia Tech researcher Aaron Levine, he presented a paper titled “The Origins of State Embryonic Stem Cell Research Policies: An Event History Analysis” at the Atlanta Conference on Science Innovation and Policy in November 2009. With McLendon and Lacy, he presented a paper titled “Gambling on Merit Aid: An Event History Analysis of the Rise and Spread of MeritAid Programs” at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association in Chicago in April 2010.

Hearn began work on a project titled “Emerging Developments in Faculty Career Contexts,” funded by the TIAA-CREF Institute. The project, for which Hearn is principal investigator, uses existing and new data sources to investigate changes in the contexts of faculty work in U.S. higher education institutions. Also, Hearn continued work on two projects funded by the National Science Foundation: he served as co-principal investigator with Sheila Slaughter for a project titled “Centers, Universities, and the Scientific Innovation Ecology,” and he continued work on a project titled “State Science Policies: Modeling their Origins, Nature, Fit, and Effects on Local Universities.”

With Director Libby Morris taking on additional duties as vice provost for UGA, Jim has graciously agreed to serve as associate director of the Institute. He will assist with administrative duties and advise faculty committees.

Finally, in January of 2010, Hearn became associate editor for the Educational Researcher, a journal of the American Educational Research Association. In December of 2010, he will complete fifteen years of service as associate editor of Research in Higher Education.

■■ Robert Toutkoushian will focus on several projects including an analysis of the impact of Indiana’s TwentyFirst Century Scholars program (TFSC) on improving access to higher education for students from low income families. This work involves the analysis of a large cohort of 9th grade students in Indiana, and will examine whether TFSC participants were more likely than other students to initially consider going to college, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and enroll in college. This analysis will complement IHE’s focus on higher education finance and policy. A second major initiative this year will be co-authoring a textbook, with Michael Paulsen at the University of Iowa, on the economics and finance of higher education. He will also be completing studies on the following topics: (a) the tuition differential charged by public institutions to in-state and out-of-state students; (b) the effects of merit- and need-based state financial aid on access to higher education; and (c) the effects of sanctions from the No Child Left Behind Act on student performance in Indiana. Rob is also Brendan Cantwell, from the Univerco-editing a book (with sity of Arizona, joined the Institute in Jung Shin from Seoul August as a postdoctoral research National University) to be associate. He will be mentored by published by Springer on Sheila Slaughter with whom he has corankings and prestige in authored an article submitted to Highhigher education. Other er Education. His research addresses higher education internationalization, studies that are underway professional education access, and include (1) an analysis of student mobility and access. nonresident tuition rates in public colleges and universities, (2) an examination of the impact of state financial aid programs on access to higher education and mobility across states, and (3) an analysis of how to measure economies of scale for institutions of higher education.

Rob served as president of AIR for 2009-10. He served as editor of the journal New Directions for Institutional Research from 2005-10, is now the associate editor of the series Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, and will become the new editor of Research in Higher Education beginning in January 2011.

■■ Doug Toma culminates his project on the managerial capacity of universities and colleges in a book to be released in September titled Building Organization Capacity: Strategic Management in Higher Education (Johns Hopkins University Press). He is also completing a book to be published by Routledge titled Managing the Entrepreneurial University: Legal Issues and Commercial Realities in Higher Education.

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Doug teamed with IHE doctoral student Dennis Kramer this year to edit a New Directions for Higher Education monograph on the uses of intercollegiate athletics. He wrote a chapter for a forthcoming book from Johns Hopkins, edited by Mike Bastedo, on organizing higher education; contributed a chapter on ethics in fund raising and athletics for an upcoming book; and has a chapter on the business of college athletics in the new three-volume book by David Siegel and John Knapp on the business of higher education. Doug presented a paper before a plenary session at the academic symposium at the 2010 NCAA convention in January, which the Journal of Intercollegiate Athletics is publishing this fall. He has enjoyed organizing the Atlanta Ed.D. program for the Institute, which launched in January.

■■ Karen Webber continues her assignment as graduate coordinator for the IHE Ph.D. program for FY201011. Over the past year, she was the keynote speaker at the inaugural conference for the Middle East and Northern Africa Association for Institutional Research (MENAAIR), presented a workshop and two Karen Webber works with students after class. scholarly papers at AIR in Chicago, and presented a paper at ASHE in Vancouver. She had a paper published with doctoral student Charles Mathies and two chapters, one co-authored with Rob Toutkoushian, in a book for Springer Press called Ranking, Reputation, and Quality of Higher Education. Webber is among a strong team of IHE faculty and doctoral students who are using the NCES and NSF datasets for research. Webber is examining NSOPF data to further illuminate facets of efficient faculty productivity, including the interaction effect of gender, children, and marital status, as well as immigrant status on overall productivity. Webber also served as a reviewer for the UGA Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunity (CURO) summer scholars apprentice program and has submitted an article for publication on the benefits of undergraduate research with Pam Kleiber (CURO) and Marcus Fechheimer (Cell Biology). Currently, she and colleagues in 6

IHE Report

Erik Ness teaches a unit on state and federal policy.

the departments of Counseling and Human Development and Kinesiology are planning to submit a grant this fall to NIH proposing a multi-year program for at-risk youth.

■■ Erik Ness continues research examining the political dynamics of the public policymaking process and the effects of state merit scholarship programs. He co-authored an article with Liang Zhang recently published in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis that analyzes the impact of merit aid programs on stemming the brain drain. In two chapters forthcoming in a New Directions in Institutional Research volume, he proposes a typology of state merit aid programs (with Jennifer Delaney) and examines the impact of these programs in Florida and Georgia on institutions’ academic profiles (with Liang Zhang). His article on the political process through which states determine merit aid eligibility criteria was published last winter in the Journal of Higher Education. Ness is currently examining the utilization and dissemination of information as states consider the adoption of new postsecondary education policies. In a chapter in the most recent volume of Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, Ness synthesizes the relevant literature on the use of information in the public policy process and scrutinizes the extent to which research utilization is incorporated in the conceptual frameworks of the policymaking process. With funding from the Spencer Foundation, he has analyzed research utilization in the adoption of state merit aid programs and presented papers on the topic at the annual conferences of ASHE in Vancouver and CHER in Oslo. Also in 2009-10, Ness was elected as a member-at-large to ASHE’s Council on Public Policy in Higher Education and was selected as a member of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education Associates Program. He continues to serve as a consulting editor for Research in Higher Education. 

IHE Fellows, 2010 Charter schools get boost from Charles Knapp, Jennifer Buck

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n 2008, the Georgia General Assembly passed HB 881, the Georgia Charter Schools Commission Act, which created a state-level commission with the power to authorize charter schools, public schools that are independently run, even if local districts deny the petitions to establish such schools. The aim of charter schools is to improve student achievement by expanding public school options. Commission members are appointed by the State Board of Education from a list recommended by the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house, and the Department of Education appoints one ex officio member. Governor Perdue nominated IHE members Dr. Charles Knapp, professor of economics and distinguished public service fellow, and doctoral student, Jennifer Rippner Buck, to serve on the seven-member board.

The Georgia Charter Schools Commission has the power to approve or deny petitions for commission charter schools and renew or terminate commission charter schools in accordance with Georgia law. The commission’s duties extend beyond simply authorizing schools, to developing and promoting best practices, reviewing standards, and holding charter schools accountable for their performances.

During the first cycle, the commission received approximately 30 applications; of these, it has granted five new charters and approved two conversions (from stateonly charters to commission charters, which mean higher allocations per student). Dr. Knapp says that “when they are held to high academic standards, charter schools can be a real laboratory for experimentation and finding out what works.”

The commission has run into some opposition from school districts concerned about financial loss on the amount of state support received for students at charter schools, which is approximately half that received for other public school students. Seven Georgia school districts (including the city of Atlanta) have brought a lawsuit against the Georgia Charter Schools Commission questioning its constitutionality and charging that it operates as an independent school system. The lawsuit is on the docket of the State Supreme Court and should be heard this fall.

Dr. Knapp’s service on the Georgia Charter Schools Commission is a continuation of his involvement in educational issues. President of UGA from 1987-97, he is the current director of educational development for the CF Foundation and on the board of the National Center on Teaching and America’s Future. In 2006, he chaired the Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce that produced the highly recognized report “Tough Choices or Tough Times,” which described how the shift in the U.S. and global economies changed the educational landscape, and recommended dramatic changes in our system of education. 

By Elisabeth Hughes

Fellows from a wide variety of disciplines and institutions enrich the multi-disciplinary intellectual community at the Institute. 2010 Fellows include: Christopher Cornwell Professor of Economics Jerry S. Davis Education Research and Policy Analysis Consultant Delmer Dunn Vice President for Instruction Emeritus and Regents Professor Emeritus Anne Proffitt Dupre J. Alton Hosch Professor of Law Catherine L. Finnegan Director of Assessment and Public Information Advanced Learning Technologies Board of Regents, University System of Georgia Susan H. Frost Consultant and Adjunct Professor, Graduate Institute of the Liberal Arts, Emory University Denise Gardner Director of Institutional Research Joseph C. Hermanowicz Associate Professor of Sociology Pamela B. Kleiber Associate Director, Honors Program Edward J. Larson Hugh & Hazel Darling Professor of Law Pepperdine University Larry L. Leslie Distinguished Visiting Professor of Higher Education Senior Fellow-in-Residence David Morgan Former Assistant Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs/ Deputy Board of Regents, University System of Georgia David Mustard Associate Professor of Economics College of Business Elizabeth DeBray Pelot Assistant Professor Program of Educational Administration and Policy Kenneth E. Redd Director of Research and Policy Analysis Council of Graduate Schools Joseph Stevenson University Provost & Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Mississippi Valley State University Geoffrey Thomas President Emeritus, Kellogg College University of Oxford

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Ed.D. program’s first year focuses on entrepreneurship and global higher education Ed.D. students spent a week studying in the Dutch city of Haarlem this summer.

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IHE Report

Every six weeks, the locus of activity at the Institute moves 64 miles west from Athens, when our Atlanta-based Ed.D. students convene.

The program, which enrolled 16 senior managers in higher education in January, pays particular attention to the entrepreneurial university and commercialization in higher education, as well as internationalization and the global context. Each of the participants has a significant portfolio of responsibilities, with the group representing a range of both institution types and functional areas, making an advanced and intensive curriculum possible.

In developing the program, the Institute faculty focused on coherence. “In its focus on policy, strategy, and management and emphases on commercialization and internationalization, the Atlanta Ed.D. is reflective of the Institute,” notes Associate Professor J. Douglas Toma, who directs the effort. “We resisted the temptation to attempt to be all things to all people. But for those senior managers interested in the increasingly entrepreneurial nature of universities and colleges, both in the U.S. and worldwide, we are a very good option.”

The program also “keeps us honest” as a faculty, Toma indicates. The concentrated nature of the format and knowledge of higher education management among the participants requires those leading discussions be focused and relevant. In addition, an outside colleague, often a leading scholar from abroad, is present at each session, serving as discussant and broadening the perspectives offered.

The seven regular members of the Institute of Higher Education faculty teach the majority of the program, with visiting faculty teaching in a few specialized areas. The participants complete the curriculum as a group over six consecutive semesters — 42 ten-hour modules.

Dissertation work is structured and systematic, supervised by an IHE core faculty member, and unfolds over the six semesters of the program. The portion of the curriculum devoted to research concentrates on building expertise needed not only to complete the dissertation, but also to supervise and evaluate the research applied in managing complex organizations.

Each meeting, Charles Knapp, an Institute faculty member and former University of Georgia president, convenes a discussion on leadership with a significant figure associated

with higher education or a related area. Guests have ranged from the lieutenant governor of Georgia to former UGA head football coach and athletic director, Vince Dooley.

The program admits a cohort every other year (the next in January 2012) and includes two experiences abroad. The first was in June, in Haarlem, the Netherlands, during which the group worked with colleagues from CHEPS, the Center for Higher Education Policy Studies at the University of Twente.

Next summer, participants will have a choice of visiting Australia, China, or South Africa to work with colleagues there and meet with senior officials in a variety of institutional and governmental settings.

“I knew that my lack of international experience was a shortcoming that needed to be addressed if I aspired to hold positions of increased responsibility in the future,” Kathy Pharr, assistant vice president for finance and administration at UGA offered. “The session in Haarlem was outstanding.

It was an eye-opening experience, and I eagerly await the opportunity for a similar first-hand introduction to the rapidly advancing Chinese system next summer.”

John Mitchell, chief executive officer of the Golden Key International Honour Society agrees. “In my role of working with administrators at universities around the globe, I hoped that the UGA program would better prepare me for meaningful interactions with vice chancellors, university presidents and the like around the world. I have not been disappointed.”

“I find myself getting excited as the next class session approaches and as the next international trip gets closer,” says Jeff Delaney, chief information officer at Savannah State College. “The end of the program will be met with mixed emotions — happy to be a graduate, but sad that it is over.” 

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Outstanding Alumni Elizabeth Simonetti (EdD, 2002)

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estled in West Africa between the far larger and more well-known countries of Ghana and Nigeria, lies a small sliver of land that is the nation of Togo. In what was once an autonomous republic within the French union in an often forgotten part of the world, Elizabeth Simonetti served as a pharmacist in a medical dispensary named the Centre Medico Sociale Ste. Bakhita. Simonetti’s role at the clinic was to help the medical staff optimize therapy—helping physicians switch patients from IV to oral therapy, selecting the best medication to treat hypertension, or teaching them to use new drugs for treating nausea in patients with malaria. She also counseled patients on how to use or what to expect from their medications.

“The biggest service I instituted was reconstituting oral antibiotics with distilled water, a common practice in the U.S., but a new service for my Togolais patients,” explains Simonetti. “Most of the patients had no access to clean, filtered water, so I created a system where we used distilled water created in our laboratory to reconstitute the antibiotic powder.”

“Living and working in Togo quickly became a very natural way of life for me. I got used to the dust, the heat, the lack of filtered water, and the extra steps we needed to take to prevent diseases, but I ended up with parasites and malaria anyway, just like my patients!”

Simonetti was not deterred by her battle with malaria or the less than perfect living conditions in Togo. “I grew to love the people, the customs, the patients, and hearing ‘Bonne Arrivée’ (welcome!) every morning as I walked to the dispensary.” Now she, along with another former missionary, have embarked on a new adventure.

“I am so pleased to announce our new nonprofit organization, Multiply the H.A.R.V.E.S.T., which allows me to use key aspects of my career — education, health care and pharmacy, nonprofit management, business, fundraising, languages — to provide economic development in Togo, West Africa,” comments Simonetti. The nonprofit will partner with corporations, foundations, and universities.

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Simonetti with Koku, a local worker in the village where she lived.

“Multiply the H.A.R.V.E.S.T. is focused on initiatives in health, agriculture, rural development, education, and trade, supported by the values and spirituality of Catholic social teaching,” adds Simonetti. “We are launching with three initiatives — creating a sewing cooperative that will sew mosquito bed canopies for sale at reduced prices to reduce

Simonetti (far left) with the rest of the staff outside the Centre Medico Sociale Ste. Bakhita.

nonprofit organizations. “I have had the good fortune of the morbidity and mortality of malaria; forming a cooperative that will create family planning beads that will teach literate helping a local Catholic all-girls high school with the grant and illiterate couples natural family planning techniques; writing component of their fundraising efforts. In addition, I and helping small farmers use drip irrigation to increase the co-chaired a fundraising event that raised $13,000 for a local quantity and variety of crops to improve the health homeless shelter. I currently chair the Global “I grew to love the Solidarity Team for the Archdiocese of Newark, and nutrition of local communities.” people, the customs, In the years prior to her time in Togo, which supports the Human Concerns Office in the patients, and Simonetti obtained a BS in pharmacy and a BA in implementing the principles of Catholic Social French studies from the University of Connecticut, hearing ‘Bonne Arrivée’ Teaching.” (welcome!) every and a Master’s in general administration from Elizabeth Simonetti is clearly a high energy morning as I walked to individual who believes in giving back to the the University of Maryland. Her doctorate was awarded by the IHE. She previously worked for the the dispensary.” community and to the world. Her work and her —Elizabeth Simonetti, achievements have taken her a long way since American Society of HealthSystem Pharmacies in Alumna her days at the Institute. When asked what advise Baltimore, MD. She was also director of continuing education and professional affairs at Mercer she would give to the current doctoral students, University’s School of Pharmacy, and the associate V.P. for she answered, “I don’t usually give advice, just suggestions, so international programs at Mercer University.

I’d suggest that current students think “What if….?”

Her consulting company, Oak Hill Consulting, What if?, indeed. Elizabeth Simonetti has proven that the LLC is focused on providing strategic planning and possibilities of aiding those in need are endless.  communications, fundraising, and team development to

By Betz Kerley

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Autumn 2010

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Advise and Ascend: The Georgia College Advising Corps

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o many students, so little time. With a state studentto-guidance counselor ratio of 400:1, is it any wonder guidance counselors across the state are facing this dilemma daily? Nationwide high school guidance counselors are spread especially thin as their duties have expanded to include assisting students with social, behavioral, and personal problems, providing special services like drug and alcohol prevention and domestic violence awareness, and supporting teachers and administrators by facilitating graduation and end-of-course tests. There is often little time left to assist students with college preparation, especially those students who need special attention.

While many high school students are going on to college, there are still many with potential who are not. These are the students who need someone to explain that help is available and work with them throughout the college-going process.

Now there is a solution to this problem. The Institute of Higher Education, in partnership with the Watson-Brown

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Advisers (from left) Ryan Carty, Truitt Broome, Ashley Holmes and Mamie Harper

Foundation and the National College Advising Corps, has begun an innovative program to recruit and train recent UGA graduates to work full-time as college advisers in selected high schools across Georgia. The Georgia College Advising Corps (GCAC), directed by Libby Morris, works alongside professional high school guidance counselors with the goal of increasing college going by helping first generation, underrepresented, and low-income students enroll in postsecondary institutions that fit their academic profiles.

“I want the students to know that everyone has an option available to them,” explains GCAC adviser, Truitt Broome.

“We do our best to find the kids who are falling through the cracks.” And once these students are found, the advisers work with them both individually and in groups to identify postsecondary options that meet students’ needs and desires.

“We are resource coordinators,” adds adviser Mamie Harper. “We can’t make them do anything, but we provide the resources to help them succeed.” In an effort to reach those

Left: Mamie Harper works with students at Westside High School in Augusta, Ga. Below: Yarbrah Peeples, Ph.D. student and program assistant for GCAC.

students who were especially in need, Harper formed a group at her school called “Generation Next,” which targets first generation college students interested in attending college.

There are 40 members this year, and 30 have been accepted into a college. Harper had one college accept a student who is a single mother of two children. By identifying a college that would accept and support single mothers, Harper has helped to open a door of opportunity to two generations.

“I wish I’d had ‘me’ in high school!” jokes Ryan Carty.

Adviser Carty spends his days speaking to groups of 80 to 100 students at a time. He has found that college exposure and individualized attention have made the biggest impact on his students. He realized early in the school year that many students didn’t value a college education because they didn’t understand what it could mean for them and their futures. In an effort to emphasize the importance of higher education, Carty provides students with examples of job opportunities and the salary potential associated with different levels of education.

Adviser Ashley Holmes has an open-door policy at her school.

“My office is like a club after school.

GEORGIA COLLEGE I have students who hang out and that makes them comfortable, so we can talk about things.” Holmes can recall several conversations with students that began with discussions of football and cheerleading but ended with discussions about college options and financial aid. Beyond providing students with access, Holmes has developed special programming designed to attract and inform students about college. She was especially delighted when a student dropped by to tell her he had applied and been accepted to college after listening to her speak at the school’s College Night.

The members of GCAC have also taken to advising organizations how to reach students. Carty serves as an assistant track coach and an adviser to an all-male leadership organization. Broome serves as an adviser for the Collegiate

Candidates program that works in conjunction with the University of Georgia. By working both inside and outside of the classroom, these advisers have been able to develop bonds with students that encourage them to begin the college-going process.

After serving only one year in Georgia high schools, the advisers’ impact has been remarkable. Working as an advocate for a student denied admission to Georgia College and State University, Holmes contacted an admissions representative from the college and relayed information about the student’s academic potential, extracurricular involvement, and personal circumstances. Her advocacy worked and the student was admitted to the institution.

Holmes also suggested the student who needed financial support apply for a scholarship she saw advertised ADVISING CORPS on the NACAC website and provided a letter of recommendation. The student was awarded a $7000 scholarship.

With the assistance of Carty several students from Meadowcreek High School will be attending the University of Georgia. That number might have been significantly smaller had Carty not arranged for a college tour in the fall semester to expose his students to the college campus with follow-up trips in the spring semester for accepted students and their families.

This group of talented and enthusiastic GCAC advisers is making a difference in high schools throughout Georgia. As the program expands, more and more students will apply and enroll in college, proving that with the right guidance anything is possible. 

UGA

By Betz Kerley

Autumn 2010

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Common Criticisms Economics of Higher Education

of the

Rob Toutkoushian Introduction One of the most interesting and unique features of the field of higher education to me is that it brings together academics with a wide diversity of interests, backgrounds, and talents. It is not unusual to find professors in departments of higher education who have been trained in fields outside of higher education, such as sociology, history, and political science. I believe that this diversity of perspectives is needed in higher education to address the complex problems that arise in our field. For example, if one is interested in how to improve access to higher education, then one must draw from theories and perspectives in sociology, economics, history, and political science, in order to fully understand the topic.

Although enriching, this diversity also brings with it the challenge of how to effectively communicate with each other about the unique perspectives from our fields of study. Each academic discipline has its own set of knowledge, methods, and theories that tend to be understood by most within that discipline. What may be considered general knowledge among historians, however, is probably foreign to higher education professors who were trained in fields such as political science.

In my case, I was trained as an economist, having received a Ph.D. in economics from Indiana University in 1991. Since that time, I have devoted my career to exploring the many ways in which economic theories, models, and concepts can be used to help understand issues in higher education. Much of my work in higher education, for example, has focused on measuring the level of pay disparity between male and female faculty. In order to do this, I rely on models from the field of labor economics to specify how personal and organizational factors should influence faculty compensation. I have also explored questions about how states provide funding for K-12 and higher education, how expenditures are influenced by production decisions at colleges, and how students form their demand for higher education. Each time, I employed economic models and reasoning to help frame my research. I am currently writing a book (together with Michael Paulsen from the University of Iowa) on the economics and finance of higher education (to be published by Springer). Our hope is that the book will help narrow the language barrier that 14

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often exists between economists and higher education faculty.

The textbook is an extension of the volume that we edited for the series New Directions in Institutional Research on ways to apply economics to problems in institutional research (Toutkoushian & Paulsen, 2006).

During my time in academia, I have noted that there is a considerable amount of misunderstanding about economics, particularly among the education community. Concepts such as the benefit of competitive (“free”) markets to society — taken as a given among most economists — were not only misunderstood among some education researchers but also severely criticized. Often these misperceptions have been used as justification for the exclusion of economic reasoning from higher education research. For example, in the 2008 presidential address to the members of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), Stephen Klees not only criticized economic reasoning but argued that the use of economics in education has led to significant problems: “I believe that as a result of neoliberal shaped globalization (economics) we have had more than a quarter century of public policies and private actions that have contributed to the further marginalization of certain individuals, groups, and nations, while privileging others” (Klees, 2008, p.317-318).

This speech touched off a lively debate within the CIES as to the value of economic reasoning to education research (see, for example, Shafiq, 2008; Heynemann, 2008; and Baker, 2008).

My goal in this essay is not to revisit this debate per se, but to provide an overview of the approach that economists use to examine problems relating to education. I then turn to several of the most common critiques that have been leveled against the use of economics in higher education. These critiques can be summarized as follows: (1) “Students are not rational as is assumed by economists”; (2) “Colleges do not try to maximize profits as economists assumed for firms”; and (3) “College pricing does not correspond to economic models”.

Overview of Economic Reasoning Although economics departments are often housed in schools of business, the field can best be thought of as a social science because it focuses on understanding how decision

makers (individuals and organizations) make choices. Most time that a professor spends in one activity, such as research, economic models are based on two general premises. The first means that less time can be spent in another activity, such as is that all decision makers want to make the best out of their teaching. State legislators must make decisions about the level own situation. For example, an economist might begin by of financial support to provide public colleges and universities, assuming that in making a decision about going to college, a given the constraints that they have on tax receipts. College student seeks to maximize his or her happiness (called “utility” administrators also are decision makers in that they have to by economists). Similarly, when making hiring decisions at choose how to use an institution’s resources (financial and a college or university, a college is assumed to be trying to human capital) to best achieve their goals and objectives. Even maximize its prestige or reputation. The role of the economist though the goals and the constraints change, the economists’ is not to say what the decision maker should try to maximize, way of approaching each decision maker’s problem is the but rather to take this as a given and then proceed from same. there. In this way, economics is very non-prescriptive about Economics is also useful for addressing the question behavior: all it really says is that a decision maker has some of how goods and services are produced and distributed in goal in mind and that he or she wants to try to work towards society. The primary mechanism advocated by economists that goal. for doing this is through a free and competitive market. A The second premise behind most economic models is that competitive market to an economist is the ultimate form of all decision makers have constraints that limit their ability democracy in that buyers in the market get to “vote” with their to reach their ultimate goal or objective. These constraints dollars as to what should be made and who should get the final occur because there are limited amounts products and services. In this way, all of the [E]conomics is very nonof resources that can be used to reach individual decisions about what to buy and prescriptive about behavior: all it their goals. Although money/income is an what not to buy send signals to sellers about really says is that a decision maker often-cited constraint for individuals and what is most desired by those in society. has some goal in mind and that he organizations, Gary Becker (1965) showed Furthermore, with firms and organizations or she wants to try to work towards acting in their best interest, and consumers that another equally if not more important constraint for most decision makers is time. that goal. acting in their best interest, economists argue Decision makers must choose how to use that the market model not only lets decision their time between alternatives in much the same way that makers make the best out of their situation, but also society they choose how to spend their money between alternatives. benefits as well by having resources used in an efficient way.

Becker’s work was particularly important because it opened However, economists have also noted that exceptions the door for economic reasoning to be applied to a much may exist when the good or service is either something that is wider and richer range of problems. freely available to everyone (“public good”), or its production To an economist, there are several reasons why the field leads to benefits or losses to others who do not use the good or of higher education is ripe for economic analysis. First, there service (“externalities”). In fact, an economic argument can be are many different decision makers who take part in our made that governments financially support higher education higher education system in one way or another. Students because its teaching and service activities lead to positive have to make decisions about the amount of education that externalities for society, and its research activities are needed they want to obtain, where to go to college, what to study, to produce public goods. Without some form of government and whether to stay at an institution or transfer to another intervention, the concern is that not enough research, institution. Parents are also decision makers in that they take teaching, and service activities would be produced by colleges, part in the decision process for their children. In each case, if the production decision was left solely to the competitive the choices about postsecondary education are influenced by market. constraints such as income/wealth and time, and thus can be Criticisms of Economics of Higher Education framed using economic reasoning. Viewed in this way, the In this section, I turn to three commonly-voiced criticisms economic problem for the student becomes how to best use about economics and why some feel that economic models his or her limited time and money to acquire education in and theories should not be applied to problems in higher an effort to reach his or her goal. Faculty members are also education. These criticisms can usually be traced back to a decision makers in that they have to decide how to allocate misunderstanding about economic reasoning and how it can their time among competing demands in teaching, research, be used. and service. Because time is a fixed resource, an increase in the

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Criticism #1: “Students are irrational”. The first criticism follows from the assumption used by economists in their models of individual behavior that consumers are rational.

It is not hard, however, to look at the behavior of students in today’s high schools and college campuses and question whether or not they are acting in a rational manner. For example, suppose that a high-ability student decides to skip college and instead become a waiter. Was the student’s decision rational? Likewise, suppose that a student decides to enroll in a certain institution because the student union looked “cool,” despite the fact that he was admitted to another institution where the quality of education was better. To non-economists, such examples are evidence that students do not always make rational choices, and if economic models are based on this assumption, then surely economics is not a useful framework for helping us understand the college choice process.

The above criticism follows from the different way in which economists and non-economists think of rationality.

To an economist, all that is really required for an action to be rational is that the decision maker has a set of preferences and that he or she acts in accordance with these preferences.

These preferences can and usually do vary considerably across individuals, which means that what might be a rational decision for one student would be an irrational decision for another student. This also means that someone with unusual preferences, such as a student who gets more 16

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enjoyment out of working as a waiter than from going to college, might be rational in deciding to skip college and work as a waiter. All economists are saying when they use the phrase “rational behavior” is that a person is acting in their own best interest as they perceive it.

What makes this concept particularly challenging is that because we cannot observe a person’s preferences, we cannot determine whether a given action was rational or not.

The tendency of many people is to therefore use their own preferences as a rule for judging whether or not a decision was rational. This makes sense because perhaps the only preferences we can truly observe are our own! However, if the person observes someone else making a decision that is different from what they would have done, the person cannot tell if the difference is due to irrational behavior or different preferences. There is also the tendency for people to equate a rational decision with a correct decision. The student who decides to skip college so that he can work as a waiter may have made what an economist would call a rational decision given his preferences at the time, but the decision could have been based on faulty or incomplete information. In fact, this is often the case because virtually every choice that is made involves some level of uncertainty and set of information.

Or to put it another way, to an economist an action can be both rational and wrong at the same time. Taken together, it can be seen that the concept of rational behavior as used by economists is fairly weak and does not impose significant

constraints on what is presumed about a decision maker’s behavior. Together with Stephen DesJardins, I explored this notion of rationality in higher education in more depth in a 2006 publication (DesJardins and Toutkoushian, 2005).

Criticism #2: “Colleges do not try to maximize profits”.

A second critique that has been leveled against the application of economics to the field of higher education is that colleges and universities behave in ways that are somehow different from other organizations. The model used by economists to describe how firms in the private sector make pricing and production decisions typically assumes that their goal or objective is to maximize profits.

Such an assumption does not apply to most of the colleges and universities in the United States. Public institutions are by definition not-for-profit organizations, and the same is true for the majority of private institutions. Therefore, the argument is made by some that economic models of the theory of the firm are not very helpful in explaining how colleges and universities operate.

Nonetheless, I would argue that there is still a lot that can be learned by applying economic concepts to examine how colleges and universities behave. First, colleges and universities can be thought of as having goals and objectives, even if they are not profit maximization per se. Several economists have suggested, for example, that colleges seek to maximize their prestige or reputation. Because economics deals with how decision makers can best achieve their goals — whatever they might be — subject to their constraints, economic reasoning is still a useful framework to use to look at college behavior even if the goal of colleges and universities is not to maximize profits. Second, not-forprofit institutions such as public colleges still need to pay attention to their finances and operate in such a way that they raise sufficient revenues to cover their costs. Colleges typically engage in cost-cutting efforts and strategies to raise additional revenues that are similar to what is seen in the for-profit world. Third, colleges have customers in much the same way that for-profit enterprises have customers, and thus have to be concerned with the prices that they charge, the quality of their services, and how they compare relative to other suppliers of higher education services.

Criticism #3: “College pricing doesn’t fit into economic models”. The final misperception that I will discuss here relates to university pricing. At first glance, the way in which prices for higher education are set in the marketplace does not make much sense to the typical consumer. Tuition and fees are, for the most part, very high: at some of the

more selective private institutions in the United States can easily exceed $40,000 per year. Although public institutions charge substantially less per year in tuition and fees, they can still take up a significant amount of disposable income for families and require students to go into debt to pay for college. Even within public institutions, confusion exists about pricing because state residents are often charged onethird of the tuition and fees that non-resident students face, despite the fact that all students within the institution can take the same classes and benefit equally from the services that they receive. Imagine the outrage that would exist if Kohl’s charged non-state residents three times the price charged to state residents for a shirt! Adding even more to the confusion over pricing is that, across both public and private institutions, many students receive price discounts in the form of financial aid. Students and their families often have poor information about the true (net) price that they would have to pay if they were to attend a given institution.

Economists are quick to point out, however, that the pricing of higher education may not be as mysterious as is thought at first glance. Some of the confusion is due to the fact that a substantial portion of the price of attending college is subsidized by various entities. The pricing relationship in higher education was described by Gordon Winston (1997) as follows: Price = Cost – Subsidy where Price = amount paid by students for their education, Cost = per-student expenditures that are needed to provide higher education services, and Subsidy = portion of perstudent expenditures that is covered by entities such as federal and state governments, private donations, and endowment earnings. As noted earlier, economists might justify these subsidies as being necessary to help produce positive externalities and public goods for society.

This pricing formula reveals a couple of important features about higher education. First, the price that is paid by students at even the most expensive colleges and universities in the United States is only a fraction of the perstudent cost of providing their education. Admittedly, this may be of little comfort to parents when they write large checks for tuition to their children’s institutions! Second, the formula shows that rising tuition rates could be due to either rising costs of providing education, falling subsidies, or some combination of the two. The fact that prices in academia have been rising faster than inflation might therefore reflect rising costs and possible inefficiency, but could also be due to subsidies not keeping pace with costs. This is important

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because higher education critics often point to rising tuition as proof that colleges are inefficient, and yet such conclusions should also take into account what has happened with subsidies. Finally, economists have used cost-benefit analysis to show that the prices charged for higher education typically pale in comparison to the financial benefits that students experience from college. There is a sizable literature on the “return on education” in which economists seek to quantify the financial benefits to a student from investing his or her income (and time) in going to college.

Summary I hope that this essay has provided some insight into the way in which economists think about the world in general, and higher education in particular. The field of higher education is a big tent, and there should be room for economists, sociologists, political scientists, and academics from many other disciplines to work together to address the many important problems that we are facing. Rather than find arguments for dismissing bodies of work that are different from our own, we should strive to see the value in alternative philosophies and approaches to research, and how to work together. This will require that we take the time to learn from each other, as well as conduct research along our traditional disciplinary lines, but (in economic lingo) I believe that the benefit of doing so will greatly exceed the cost.

References Becker, G. (1965). A theory of the allocation of time. The Economic Journal, 75, 493-517.

DesJardins, S., & Toutkoushian, R. (2005). Are students really rational?

The development of rational thought and its application to student choice. In J. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research, XX (pp.191-240). Great Britain: Springer.

Heyneman, S. (2008). A Luta Continua: The Presidential Address of Steve Klees. Comparative & International Education Society Newsletter, Number 147.

Klees, R. (2008). Reflections on theory, method, and practice in comparative and international education. Comparative Education Review, 52, 301-328.

Toutkoushian, R. & Paulsen. M. (eds.) (2006). Applying Economics to Institutional Research. New Directions for Institutional Research, no.

132. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Shafiq, N. (2008). An Economist’s Response to Steven Klees’ 2008 CIES Presidential Address. Comparative & International Education Society Newsletter, Number 147.

Winston, G. (1997). Why can’t a college be more like a firm? Change, September/October, 33-38.

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Robert Toutkoushian specializes in the application of economic theories and methods to problems in higher education. He has a Ph.D. in economics from Indiana University, and prior to joining the faculty at Indiana University, he worked as a research analyst at the University of Minnesota and as executive director of the Office of Policy Analysis at the University System of New Hampshire.

Professor Toutkoushian has published nearly thirty studies in peer-reviewed journals on topics including faculty compensation, student demand for higher education, finance, and policy analysis. Finally, he served as president of AIR for 2009-10. He served as editor of the journal New Directions for Institutional Research from 2005 to 2010, is now the associate editor of the series Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, and will become the new editor of Research in Higher Education beginning in January 2011.

Outstanding Alumni Randy Swing (PhD, 1998)

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Strategic Management: a new book by J. Douglas Toma Every university or college president envisions bold initiatives—big projects intended to change the nature of an institution and thus having significant implications across it. How can leaders and senior managers charged with implementing reforms be most effective in framing their work and anticipating potential pitfalls? Doug Toma answers these questions and more in his new book Building Organizational Capacity: Strategic Management in Higher Education to be released in September by Johns Hopkins Press.

No organization can maximize its capacity, defined as the administrative foundation essential for establishing and sustaining initiatives, without considering its core elements individually and in concert, according to J. Douglas Toma. This book examines eight essential organizational elements—purposes, governance, structure, policies, processes, information, infrastructure, and culture—and illuminates their influence in strategic management through case studies at eight institutions.

Building Organizational Capacity situates strategic management within the context of higher education, providing practitioners with needed tools toward better understanding challenges associated with their institution accomplishing its missions and realizing its aspirations. Its clear and well-integrated review of the latest research, as well as its counsel for decision makers applying the book’s lessons in practice, ensures its place in the growing literature on strategy and management in higher education. 

andy Swing is passionate about his job.

As executive director of the Association for Institutional Research (AIR), Swing oversees an organization that claims over 4,000 members with net assets of around $5.5 million.

The broad mission of AIR is to build capacity for using data to improve higher education. “My goal,” explains Swing, “is to assure that institutional researchers have the skills to use data effectively, know about the latest tools and techniques for working with data, and understand the larger social and political context that shapes higher education.” In an interview with the Chronicle of Higher Education, Randy emphasized the importance of colleges and universities making good “data-informed” decisions.

Randy believes that institutions must take more responsibility for student success. “It has been too easy to believe that students were to blame if they were not successful.

The data is starting to show that what colleges do determines to a large degree what students do.”

Even during tough economic times, AIR thrives. “We are growing at an astonishing rate,” says Swing. “The downturn in the economy plus the world-wide focus on quality assurance for postsecondary education has greatly expanded the institutional need for data and data-informed decisions.”

With the help of the Lumina Foundation for Education, AIR delivers online training to institutional research officers at 2-year colleges. “Small IR offices face the greatest challenge in finding travel funding, dealing with employee turnover, and basic skills development,” states Swing.

“My degree from IHE and position at AIR afford me nearly unlimited possibilities. Many of my basic assumptions about higher education have been challenged by my work in Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Scotland, England and Australia.” This fall, he will travel to Japan and South Africa.

“I’m passionate about improving student success in college and feel that my work is making a difference,” concludes Swing. His passion about his work and the continued success of AIR under his watch proves that Randy Swing is indeed, making a difference. 

By Betz Kerley

Autumn 2010

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Lumina CEO outlines group’s ambitious national goals

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amie P. Merisotis, president and CEO of Lumina Foundation for Education, presented the 2009 McBee lecture on November 12 in the UGA Chapel.

Long a champion of the idea that higher education enhances both society and individuals, Merisotis has worked for decades to increase educational opportunity among lowincome, minority and other historically underrepresented populations. Under his leadership, Lumina has embraced an ambitious and specific goal: to ensure that, by 2025, 60 percent of Americans have high quality two-year or four-year degrees — up from the current level of 39 percent.

President Adams stated in his introduction of Dr. Merisotis, “what Dr. Merisotis and Lumina Foundation are doing has extraordinarily important implications for societal balance, for economic development, and for the leadership of the next generation of this country.” Current data points to an urgent need for the U.S. population to become more educated to remain competitive in the global economy, as well as maintain or increase our current standard of living.

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Merisotis argues that “America’s continued prosperity and social stability very much depend on this nation’s system of higher education.” Based on research and experience, Lumina Foundation believes that reaching the Big Goal is possible if the nation directs attention to three critical outcomes: ■■ Students are prepared academically, financially, and socially for success in education beyond high school.

■■ Higher education completion rates are improved significantly.

■■ Higher education productivity is increased to expand capacity and serve more students.

Dr. Merisotis believes that this ambitious goal is “an opportunity to make a real and lasting difference. We know that the goal is big, far too big to reach without caring partners from every sector of society. But I am convinced that the payoff will be huge.” 

2010 McBee Lecture SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher 11 a.m. November 3 in the UGA Chapel

Nancy Zimpher became the 12th chancellor of the State University of New York on June 1, 2009. With more than 440,000 students, SUNY is the nation’s largest comprehensive public university system. She is the first woman to serve in this capacity in the system’s 60-year history.

A dynamic and nationally recognized leader, Chancellor Zimpher is known as an effective agent of change in higher education.

The chancellor began her career as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in the Ozarks and has never lost her passion for providing accessible, quality education for every student.

As president of the University of Cincinnati, Dr. Zimpher led a bold, aggressive strategic planning process, which transformed the campus into a national powerhouse and a model for urban universities in the 21st Century. Under her leadership, UC’s retention and graduation rates, student satisfaction ratings and national rankings all improved.

Prior to her tenure at UC, Dr. Zimpher served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Executive Dean of the Professional Colleges and Dean of the College of Education at The Ohio State University.

Chancellor Zimpher began her work at SUNY by engaging a strategic planning process for the SUNY system that will serve as a model for statewide collaboration for public higher education in New York State and beyond.

Outstanding Alumni Wesley Wicker (EdD, 1990)

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ennesaw State University is stepping into the spotlight. What was once a sleepy commuter college 20 miles north of Atlanta, has become a thriving university of 22,000 students, making it the third largest university in Georgia.

“The KSU Foundation will surpass $500 million in assets in the next year,” explains Wesley Wicker, IHE graduate, executive director of the KSU Foundation, and Vice President in charge of University Advancement. “Considering that we had less than $100 million just five years ago, it is astounding growth.”

“We were one of the first — if not the first — universities to build privatized housing and parking decks on a campus within the University System of Georgia,” says Wicker.

“We’re currently building a three-phase, $60 million sports and recreation park. Last year we opened a new, state-ofthe-art dining hall. We’ve recently purchased office and warehouse space adjacent to the campus, as well as a hotel. So the foundation is operated in a very entrepreneurial manner, doing things that most foundations would not do. The campus has grown beyond anyone’s wildest expectations, and the foundation is trying to keep up and support growth, while developing first-class facilities for our students.”

As the administrator responsible for this ambitious growth, Dr. Wicker has a lot on his plate. With responsibility for Alumni Affairs, Development, the KSU Foundation and University Events, his days are fast-paced and demanding.

He gives much credit to the IHE for helping to prepare him for his career. The courses at the Institute increased his analytical skills and gave him a strong foundation for the future, helping him to reach the position he holds today.

It’s not surprising that an achievement-oriented administrator such as Dr. Wesley Wicker likes to recall a quote from his mentor the late Dr. Cameron Fincher: “They call it Graduate School, because the object is to graduate.”

“I love that statement and remember it for its simplicity and message”, adds Wicker. “Don’t string it out, don’t procrastinate. Finish the job.” 

By Betz Kerley

Autumn 2010

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Jennifer Frum recalls her research into UGA’s early international programs

UGA’s international focus has roots in the 1960s During the early 1960s, the University of Georgia established an international assistance program in Southeast Asia—just at the time that United States foreign policy was focusing ever more powerfully on Communist expansionism in that region.

The story of UGA’s international ambitions and its first major involvement in an international technical assistance program is the theme of Jennifer Frum’s 2009 IHE dissertation, “Cultivating Cambodia: The Cold War, The United States Agency for Development, and the University of Georgia, 1960-64,” directed by Thomas Dyer.

Dr. Frum came to the topic with a background rich in such experience. In previous positions as deputy director of the Vinson Institute for Government at UGA, interim director of its International Center for Democratic Governance, and assistant director of UGA’s Office of International Public Service and Outreach, she led technical assistance projects in China, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Croatia, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Republic of Georgia. She also gained experience working in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Liberia, and Egypt. Now, as the newly named interim director of the Vinson Institute she oversees a variety of governmental assistance and education programs with a large international component.

The research for her project was complex and challenging.

She traveled to Cambodia where she visited sites important to the UGA story, ferreted out key participants, pursued archival resources, and, along the way, encountered stories of Khymer Rouge atrocities that made reconstruction of the UGA story more difficult. In addition, she creatively sought out other participants in the UGA program, both Americans and 22

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Cambodians. And she spent long hours in the U.S. National Archives as well as in various other repositories including the Hargett Rare Books and Manuscript Library at UGA. “I never imagined that my ‘research journey’ would be as exhilarating as it was,” Jennifer comments, “from conducting interviews and doing archival research to spending days in the National Archives in College Park. I recall the adrenaline rush when the archivist rolled out that first cart of boxes, crates of documents that had been sealed and unopened since they left Phnom Penh in the 1960s and my excitement about what I might find in those boxes.”

What she found in those boxes and in the myriad of other sources discovered and exploited was an important case study of one university’s extension of the land-grant ideal to a distant land and the ways in which that program navigated intrigue and bureaucratic wrangling.

As she explains in an abstract of the dissertation: In 1960, the Agency for International Development (then the International Cooperation Administration) contracted with the University of Georgia to improve Cambodia’s agricultural capacity by developing the programs and facilities of Cambodia’s National School of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Forestry. Southeast Asia had become of increasing strategic importance to the United States in the post-war era and was viewed, including Cambodia, as a key line of defense against the perceived Communist menace and Soviet expansionism. Over the next four years, ten UGA faculty and staff members would serve as long-term project advisors in Cambodia. As part of the project twelve Cambodian students attended and graduated from UGA in agricultural and forestry fields.

UGA President O.C. Aderhold and Dean of the College of Agriculture C.C. Murray believed that by introducing the American land-grant model, Cambodia could develop a productive agricultural sector and generate economic

Outstanding Alumni Angela Bell (PhD, 2008)

While researching her dissertation, Frum went to the source in Cambodia

development that would stabilize the country and make it more like western democracies. These beliefs had crystallized into a philosophy shared by the two men who were convinced that international involvement would yield many benefits for the university as well as the clients it served under the rubric of its land-grant mission.

But UGA’s institutional ambitions fell afoul of the larger aims of U.S. foreign policy in Southeast Asia and the realities of the larger Cold War as Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia suspended in 1963 all AID programs in Cambodia, including the UGA project.

What does it all mean? “We tend to think of the ‘internationalization’ of the American university as a recent phenomenon,” Dr. Frum explains. “In the case of this particular project, more than fifty years ago, the University of Georgia found itself in Cambodia as a key actor in U.S. foreign policy as the Cold War played out around it. The university was, at its highest levels, committing resources and personnel to a nation-building project in a country that most Georgians couldn’t place on a map, despite its geopolitical significance to the United States. The president and the dean of the institution’s most prominent college believed that the land-grant model could be applied to develop the economies and human capital of less developed nations—and that it was in our national interest to do so. Through this project, one sees what was once a provincial institution, with barely a statewide reach, awaken and position itself and its work in an international context.”

Jennifer Frum’s dissertation is a model of thorough, creative historical scholarship and lucid, graceful prose that places it among the most distinguished of IHE dissertations.

Next steps? Her dissertation will likely be published as a book or as a series of articles — but she still has the challenge of obtaining access, under the Freedom of Information Act, to some fugitive, classified U.S. government documents. Her research adventure continues. 

In West Virginia, Angela Bell’s work can have a huge impact on the state budget projections for financial aid programs. As research and planning analyst for the West Virginia Higher Education and Policy Commission, Bell is responsible for preparing the budget projections to be used in policy decisions regarding the two major financial aid programs for the state.

She also uses internal HEPC data to create and update annual statutorily required reports such as the West Virginia Financial Aid Comprehensive Report. Bell makes presentations of these reports and other research to the Policy Commission and legislative bodies.

“Working for a state agency is rewarding and interesting work,” says Bell. “I appreciate participating in projects that have an immediate impact on decisions made by the Policy Commission and the legislature. The result is that my work is seen and used as objective expertise by policymakers.”

Bell also has the opportunity to conduct more academically oriented research on topics of her choice that are germane to higher education in West Virginia. She recently presented a paper at the American Research Association conference regarding the alignment of different state merit aid academic qualification criteria with high school graduation and public college admission requirements in those states.

Bell credits the IHE for helping to prepare her to excel as a research and planning analyst. “The Institute courses I had taken in finance, policy, state systems and stratification, as well as research methods courses, all provided a solid background, which I drew on in my application materials and interviews.”

Angela Bell’s words of wisdom for current doctoral students? “Submit proposals to academic conferences and attend them. The connections and friends you make and the ideas for research you encounter are invaluable. Don’t be afraid to value quality of personal and family life in making your career decisions.”

Good advice from an IHE graduate in the Mountain State who is helping to make a difference in higher education. 

by Betz Kerley

Autumn 2010

23

International scholars make themselves at home at IHE In 2010 the IHE continued its practice of hosting international scholars. Berit Karseth, professor at the Institute for Educational Research at the University of Oslo, made her second lengthy visit to Athens, electing to spend a four-month sabbatical at the Institute. In addition to conducting research and writing, Karseth participated in classes and seminars in higher education. At Professor Sheila Slaughter’s invitation, she joined the class on comparative critiques of neoliberal universities, offering comments from a European point of view. With Professor Libby Morris, she taught the module on curriculum in the IHE’s executive Ed.D. program in Atlanta.

Karseth, an expert on curriculum policy, the Bologna Process, and the development of qualifications frameworks was one of four visiting professors who participated in an IHE symposium on international issues in higher education with colleagues from the University of Oslo and the University of Melbourne. Karseth’s paper was titled “European Qualifications Frameworks: The Avenue of Convergence for European Higher Education?” The other participants were Åse Gornitzka from the Centre for European Studies at Oslo, whose topic was “Creating an Agent of Excellence? The Birth and Institutionalization of the European Research Council;” Peter Maassen from the University of Oslo and director of HEDDA (Higher Education Development Association) whose presentation was titled “Steering Autonomous Universities in Europe: Experiences from the Nordic Region: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden,” and Lynn Meek, professor and foundation director of the L.H. Martin Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Management at the University of Melbourne, whose topic was “The Changing Australian 24

IHE Report

Jürgen Enders (top left), Berit Karseth (top right), and Jon File (above right)

Academic Profession.”

Several of the international scholars also served as expert discussants at the Executive Ed.D. meetings. Meek participated in February, Maassen will be returning for the November meeting, Jürgen Enders, director of CHEPS (Centre for Education Policy Studies) at the University of Twente, the Netherlands, was the discussant in January, and Jon File, the director of Consultancy and Development at CHEPS, made a presentation at the May meeting to prepare the students and faculty for the summer study abroad in the Netherlands.

Finally, in August, the IHE welcomed a postdoctoral student from Finland, Ilkka Kauppinen, who has been awarded a Fulbright Research Grant. Kauppinen, who has a Ph.D. in Sociology, will spend six months at the Institute. 

By Elisabeth Hughes

Three of Sheila Slaughter’s students received awards during 200910. From left to right: Sarah Brackmann received the Louise McBee Scholarship from the Georgia Association of Women in Higher Education; Stephanie Hazel received the Zell and Shirley Miller Graduate Fellowship; and Jennifer Olson received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship to Germany.

Students Beyond the Classroom

The Institute of Higher Education has retained its 6th place in national rankings and continues to build on its reputation.

In January 2010, the Institute admitted its first cohort of 16 students into the new executive Ed.D. program in higher education management, while the Ph.D. program continued to attract talented students. The interdisciplinary nature of the Institute’s programs is one of its great strengths. “The IHE appealed to me because the doctoral program conceives of higher education broadly,” states Lauren Collier, a Ph.D. student and research assistant at the Institute. “I liked that the notable faculty come from a variety of disciplines and would be able to guide me through the interplay of policy, research, and administration—from the theoretical to the practical. I have found that my experiences have exceeded my expectations.” Over the past year, a number of IHE students have won awards, secured good jobs, and presented papers at numerous conferences.

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Beyond the Classroom ■■ Jennifer Olson has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship to Germany in Sociology.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and other countries. Recipients are selected on the basis of academic achievement and leadership potential. Olson’s project is to analyze how three German universities of different size, location, and history are adapting to become attractive to international students. The study is grounded in changes in European higher education as the result of the Bologna Declaration and the Lisbon Strategy which aim to make Europe “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world.”

Olson also presented papers at the World Council of Comparative Education Societies 14th World Congress in Istanbul (“A growing market in higher education: exploring the factors that ‘push’ and ‘pull’ international students to Germany”) and the CHER conference in Oslo.

University of British Columbia on a Canadian grant awarded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Council, Brackmann presented a paper titled “NAFTA’s Impact on Higher Education: A Case Study of ASU” at an AERA roundtable.

She also coauthored a paper with fellow IHE student, Lauren Collier, which they presented at the Gulf South Summit.

■■ Stephanie Hazel, the current Zell and Shirley Miller Graduate Fellow, presented two papers at national conferences during the past year.

At the annual meeting of AERA in San Diego, she gave a paper entitled “Inequality and the Gendered University: Theoretical Perspectives on Women’s Subordination in University Administration.” She also presented a paper at the annual meeting of the Florida Consortium for Women’s and Gender Studies in Tampa.

■■ Patrick Crane secured employment with the West Virginia Higher Policy Commission and was recently designated as the governor’s education policy advisor.

His new duties include helping to coordinate education efforts between the different education agencies in the state, such as, the West Virginia Department of Education, the Secretary of Education and the Arts, and the WV Higher Education Policy Commission, as well as nonprofits and citizen groups. He also collaborates with national groups, in particular, the National Governors’ Association, and reviews legislation. This upcoming year, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin will chair the National Governors’ Association, and his focus will be on college completion and productivity. Coordinating the NGA agenda will be one of Crane’s major responsibilities.

■■ Sarah Brackmann received the 2010 Louise McBee Scholarship from the Georgia Association of Women in Higher Education. The purpose of the scholarship is to support educational enrichment for women exhibiting leadership potential in the field. As a result of her work with Professors Sheila Slaughter of the IHE and Amy Metcalfe of the 26

IHE Report

■■ Anthony Jones is working in Washington DC as a senior policy analyst for the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, which advises the Secretary of Education and Congress on student aid matters. For his current project he is serving as director of the Higher Education Regulatory Study. Jones brings nearly 20 years of experience in postsecondary education, primarily focused on student financial aid, to the job. He previously worked in the financial aid offices of three institutions, for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, and for the U.S. Department of Education. He also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Student Financial Aid.

■■ Isaiah O’Rear has accepted a position as a research scientist at the Postsecondary, Adult, and Career Education Division of the National Center for Education Statistics in Washington, DC. He previously worked on the Georgia Learning Outcomes

Beyond the Classroom of Students Studying Abroad Research Initiative, an evaluation of Georgia’s study abroad programs. He presented a paper from that research initiative at the Southern Association of Institutional Research during fall semester, and another entitled, “How do State Appropriations for Needbased Aid Respond to Recessions?” at the Alabama Political Science Association meeting in April.

■■ In March, Dennis Kramer was hired by the Georgia Department of Education’s Policy Division as their educational statistics and federal policy analyst. He is responsible for developing policies that will aid in the transition to the newly proposed Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Race to the Top application. In addition, he is involved in the development of a statewide teacher and leader evaluation system and a value-added approach to measuring student achievement, and also advises the State Board of Education on federal policies.

Kramer presented papers at the 2009 ASHE and AERA conferences and conducted two training seminars for the Georgia Advising Corporation. Working with Dr. J. Douglas Toma, he co-edited a New Directions in Higher Education Volume titled The Uses of Intercollegiate Athletics: Challenges and Opportunities: New Directions for Higher Education. He has also collaborated with Dr. Robert Toutkoushian on a chapter in the forthcoming institutional research handbook titled, Analyzing Equity in Faculty Compensation. Finally, along with three fellow IHE students, he consulted with Morehouse College on its future academic offerings and the expansion of its educational brand.

■■ In August 2010, John Cooper joined the staff of Clemson University in the role of research and planning administrator in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.

This year he will also serve as Track 2 Reviewer for the 51st AIR Forum in Toronto.

■■ Lisette Montoto is working with International Studies Abroad, Inc. (ISA) in Austin, Texas, as curriculum oversight director. She works with the executive vice president of academic affairs to design curricula and conduct thorough and continuous assessment of curricula at all ISA sites (currently over 30 program sites in 17 countries). Her duties also include the development and implementation of strategies for maximizing participants’ intercultural competence and language learning. Periodically, she travels to U.S. universities to meet with faculty and academic officials and also travels to ISA sites to meet with potential partners, carry out research related to program development, edit agreements, assist with negotiations, and train ISA personnel.

■■ Jennifer Rippner Buck was nominated by Governor Perdue to serve on the seven member board of the newly created Georgia Charter Schools Commission (GCSC). She also serves as a senior policy advisor for Education Counsel LLC, in affiliation with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough. She has considerable experience in education issues from both the school administration and state government policy levels. Buck served as executive director for the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, where she reported directly to the governor on pre-K through higher education accountability data. Previously, she was an education policy advisor to Governor Perdue and program manager for charter schools and alternative education at the Georgia Department of Education.

■■ In 2009, Jennifer Stephens was elected secretary to the Georgia Education Advancement Council (GEAC) where she has served on the Board of Directors for the last four years. Stephens was also elected to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the Lawrenceville Tourism and Trade Association (LTTA) to represent Georgia Gwinnett College in this city-wide organization.

Autumn 2010

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Beyond the Classroom ■■ Charles Mathies had a very productive final year of study, completing his Ph.D. in spring 2010, presenting 8 papers at conferences, and publishing an article in a peer-reviewed journal.

Mathies’s dissertation “Research Hierarchy: The relationship among university characteristics and federal research funding” is the University of Georgia’s nominee for the Council of Graduate Schools 2010 Distinguished Dissertation Award in the Social Sciences.

Mathies was first author on an article entitled “Inflated or not? An examination of grade change,” published in the Enrollment Management Journal. He presented four papers at AIR forums in Chicago and Atlanta and two papers at the ASHE conference in Vancouver, BC. He also presented papers at the Research Conference on Research Integrity held in Niagara Falls, NY, and at the AERA annual conference in Denver—as part of an invited session to fulfill the requirements for an AERA dissertation grant.

■■ Lauren Collier developed a leadership training curriculum for the American Council on Education’s Office of Women in Higher Education and presented it at their executive board retreat in June. The project was assigned to her by Dr. Susan Herbst, executive vice chancellor & chief academic officer for the University System of Georgia, and supervised by Libby Morris. The intent of the project is to assist women faculty members and mid-level administrators to build their skills and refine their self-presentation in order to move into higher levels of administration. The product is a set of modules that can be distributed and implemented regionally. Collier and fellow IHE student, Sarah Brackmann, presented a paper at the Gulf South Summit in March titled, “Demystifying the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification.”

■■ Mauricio Saavedra was awarded a 2010 Graduate Summer Field Research Travel Award by the UGA Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute (LACSI) to do research on Ecuador’s higher education reform. He was also selected to participate in the 2010 National Summer Data Policy Institute in Washington DC organized by AIR with the support of NSF 28

IHE Report

and NCES. Saavedra presented two papers at conferences during spring 2010 including one entitled “Latin American Pursuit of Academic Capitalism: A Case Study of Tecnológico de Monterrey” at the CONAHEC 13th North American Higher Education Conference. He was also part of a large IHE student contingency who attended AIR’s 50th Annual Forum in Chicago in April where he presented research using panel data methods, and participated in AIR’s white paper discussion in the group entitled “Expanding Our Partnerships, Consortia, and Data Sharing.”

■■ Heidi Leming was the recipient of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) 2009 Travel Grant, which enabled her to attend the SACS Annual Conference held in Atlanta, December 5-7, 2009. She is currently working at the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, where she serves as an advisor for the Student Advisory Council, and works on federal and state policy issues related to enrollment management and student affairs.

■■ Kyle Tschepikow, the assistant director of assessment in the Division of Student Affairs, was selected as a fellow to the 2010 AIR/ NCES/NSF Data Policy Institute.

Fellows for this Institute learn about the NCES and NSF national datasets and how to use the data in educational research. He presented a paper titled “Participation in Survey Research among College Students: An Exploration” at the American College Personnel Association’s national convention and authored an article “Effects of CAS Standards on Assessment Outcomes in Student Conduct Programs” which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Student Conduct Administration.

■■ During 2009-10, Leasa Weimer presented five papers at conferences and workshops, three of them at international

Outstanding Alumni Mark Kavanaugh (PhD, 2009) venues. She was an invited speaker both at the University of Sheffield, UK (“Transatlantic Views on European and English Higher Education”) and for the Ed.D. in Higher Education program in Dublin, Ireland (“The Value of Comparative Research: Understanding Higher Education Complexities”). She also presented papers at the European Student Mobility Conference in Tallinn, Estonia, at a roundtable at AERA in Denver (“Market-oriented Student Mobility in NAFTA”) and at the NAFSA conference in Kansas City (“Introduction to the Erasmus Mundus Program”).

■■ Adam Wyatt presented papers during fall semester at the Consortium for Higher Education Researchers annual conference in Porto, Portugal and also at the Association for the Study of Higher Education annual conference in Vancouver, Canada.

In May 2010, he presented a paper and poster at the AERA annual conference in Denver, and, along with three other IHE students, presented a paper at the Consortium for Higher Education Researchers annual conference in Oslo, in June. 

By Elisabeth Hughes

Institute Graduates 2009 M. Jan Whatley

Sean Brumfield

Haixia Xu

Mark S. Kavanaugh

D. Welch Suggs

Joan E. Cranford

David P. Bunnell

Tiffany E. Daniel

Jennifer L. Frum

2010 Charles F. Mathies II

Paul J. Brooks

Amy L. Holloway

Jodie Vangrov

Michelle Brown

Kangjoo Lee

Christopher Ferland

M

ark Kavanaugh is in politics. No, he hasn’t run for office, but Mark holds a position that is vital to higher education in the state of Texas: he works as a policy analyst for Senator Judith Zaffirini, the second highest ranking Texas state senator and chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee.

When the legislature is in session Kavanaugh is responsible for ensuring Senator Zaffirini’s bills make it through committee, have adequate support in the House of Representatives, and the backing of the state’s political leadership. “With Texas facing an estimated $18 billion budget shortfall, and redistricting on the horizon, it should be an interesting 2011,” says Kavanaugh.

When the legislature is not in session, Kavanaugh is involved in a variety of issues that can include anything from state student financial aid to endowment oversight. It is also his responsibility to ensure that Senator Zaffirini is kept up to date on recent, relevant research and nationally recognized best practices.

His law degree already in hand before attending the IHE, Kavanaugh thought that the legislative process would be a good use of his talents, but he did not expect to work directly for a politician. “Working for Senator Zaffirini has thus far been very interesting, and I am fortunate to work for someone who has such extensive legislative experience and who legitimately cares about higher education in Texas.”

As a recent graduate of the IHE and a former student of Sheila Slaughter, Kavanaugh remembers well what it takes to successfully complete the doctoral program. His advice to current students: “Find an area of research that interests you.

You are going to spend 12, 16 or 24 months researching and writing about a single topic, so you may as well enjoy it.” And, “Become good friends with the graduate coordinator. She is the person who can help ensure that you get all the boxes checked on time.”

Mark Kavanaugh may have mastered the art of politics long before his move to Texas, and in so doing, has prepared the way for a very successful future. 

By Betz Kerley

Autumn 2010

29

Chung

Education Policy Seminars 2009-10 The Education Policy Seminars bring distinguished scholars to the Institute to address critical issues and cuttingedge research in higher education.

Clotfelter

“The Practical Applications of Public Policy”

Brian Noland is chancellor of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. His professional career has been primarily focused in higher education and higher education policy with his scholarly focus in the areas of access, accountability, and governance.

“Entertainment University: The Role of Commercial Athletics in American Higher Education”

Charles Clotfelter is the Z. Smith Reynolds professor of public policy studies and professor of economics and law at Duke University where he has taught since 1979. He is also director of the Center for the Study of Philanthropy and Voluntarism at Duke and is a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. His major research interests are in the economics of education, the nonprofit sector, public finance and tax policy.

“Choice of For-Profit Colleges”

Anna Chung is a research associate at the University of Michigan, and her research and teaching interest are in the areas of public and economic policy, education policy analysis, and program evaluation.

Dr. Chung presented her recent research on whether students selfselect into U.S. for-profit colleges or whether the choice is accidental or due to the reasons external to the students.

“Reaping (or not) the Benefits of Multilevel Data in the Multidisciplinary Context of Educational Research”

John J. Cheslock is associate professor of higher education at Penn State University and his research focuses on the economics of higher education with a special interest in tuition and financial aid policy, faculty labor markets the role of Title IX in intercollegiate athletics, and revenue stratification across institutions.

30

IHE Report

Noland

Cheslock

Cameron Fincher leaves a legacy spanning 50 years Gifted writer and prolific scholar dies at the age of 83 On a hot August afternoon in 2005 Cameron Fincher stood at the podium and addressed a crowd of former students, colleagues, family, and friends. His closing remarks on the day of his retirement celebrated 54 years of service as a faculty member within the University System of Georgia, including over 40 years at the Institute of Higher Education.

In his 30 years as IHE director, Dr. Fincher worked with over 200 different institutions of higher education at all levels. As blacks and women began to establish a place in the University System, he was called on to start an accelerated training program for minority and female administrators. “He helped decide where to locate new junior colleges and how to manage the system’s desegregation,” said Tom McDonald, a former University System vice chancellor for student services.

Director Libby Morris recounts working with Dr. Fincher: “Quietly and without fanfare, Dr. Fincher led in the development of higher education as a field of study. His legacy is the high standards in scholarship and collegiality that continue to be central values of the Institute today.” was a prolific scholar. I was always amazed by the insights in Dr. Fincher’s influence extended well beyond UGA and his many ‘Between the Forums’ contributions to Research in the University System. “He was one of the most influential Higher Education. He was instrumental in the founding of the figures in higher education in Georgia and also had a real journal and supporting it throughout its formative years.” impact on higher education in the region,” said Tom Dyer, Pat Terenzini recounts his years at the IHE before former IHE director and colleague. “He cared first and joining the faculty at Penn State. “Cameron’s friendship, foremost about improving quality in higher education in this colleagueship, knowledge, experience, and wisdom all had state and beyond.” important effects on me and my career. Without his and the Grady Bogue, professor at the University of Tennessee, IHE’s support, the first volume of How College Affects Students remembers Cameron Fincher as a friend and colleague. “I might never have happened.” admired his scholarship and the esteem he earned among Cameron Fincher was known higher education scholars... He was “From his office on the historic for his collaboration with colleagues most importantly a man of character, northwest corner of the University across the nation. Alton Taylor, a model of caring and integrity for all of Georgia, he advised chancellors professor emeritus from the who traveled within the circle of his and presidents as well as blue ribbon University of Virginia, knew him both influence. His legacy is one of nobility.” commissions and governmental agencies; professionally and personally. “He Dr. Fincher’s work was recognized yet he never ventured far from the place welcomed me to the Association for by numerous awards and citations in academe that he loved the most, the Institutional Research, the study of from every major higher education Institute of Higher Education.” higher education, joined me in many organization, and in 1986 the Georgia —Libby V. Morris research and publication endeavors General Assembly passed a resolution and served as the best mentor and recognizing his “many valuable and role model as a professor. I couldn’t have asked for a better important contributions to higher education and to the state friend, too.” of Georgia.” His teaching and research interests covered A strong work ethic, developed from a depression-era a plethora of areas in the fields of higher education and childhood, and a high quality education from the University of psychology, and his list of publications included books, Minnesota (MA) and Ohio State (PhD) played important roles monographs, national and international journal articles, in his efforts to lay the foundation for the Institute to become reports, and over 230 newspaper articles. John Smart, longone of the premier higher education programs in the nation.  time editor of Research in Higher Education worked with Excerpts from Athens Banner-Herald, March 17, 2010 by Lee Shearer Fincher as one of the associate editors. “Cameron Fincher

“

Autumn 2010

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The gift that depends on giving Stephanie Hazel named Zell and Shirley Miller Graduate Fellow

S

tephanie Hazel is the most recent IHE student to be selected as the Zell and Shirley Miller Graduate Fellow. The fellowship, established in 2005, honors the former senator and Mrs. Miller for their many contributions to higher education, and is awarded to the graduate student who shows great promise for a future career in this field.

A doctoral student working with Dr. Sheila Slaughter, the Louise McBee professor of higher education, Hazel earned a B.S. in Family Studies from Oregon State University and an M.A. in Higher Education from the University of Arizona. Before coming to the Institute, Hazel spent several years working in community outreach and service learning programs, first as director of community education and outreach at the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault in Tucson, and then as service learning coordinator at the Institute for Children, Youth and Families at the University of Arizona, where she developed service learning programs and wrote grants and foundation proposals. Hazel credits her work with community nonprofit organizations as a life/career changing event.

She was attracted to UGA by the opportunity to work with Dr. Slaughter because “she is an accomplished scholar who would give me strong guidance,” and also by the interdisciplinary nature of the IHE curriculum “which offers the opportunity to pull together different ideas and to respond to problems in higher education in innovative ways.”

Hazel, whose dissertation will be a study on the growth of mid-level administrative/professional staff positions at research universities and the gendered nature of this development, hopes to get a faculty position at a relatively small institution “which will allow for plenty of interaction with students.”

The award has enabled Hazel to purchase expensive transcription equipment with which to conduct her research interviews, paid for research travel, and allowed her to attend the annual AERA conference in Denver. 

By Elisabeth Hughes

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IHE Report

A message from Director Libby V. Morris To the Institute of Higher Education’s many donors and friends, thank you. As I think back over the last year, I realize that many of our activities would not have taken place without your support. For example, with your donations, we…

■■ Supported students to attend conferences, often with just the help of a paid registration fee. They carpooled, shared rooms, and ate “meals” at the conference breaks!

■■ Purchased books for the Fincher library. Your donations give students access to current books that are important, but are beyond the tight budget of students and are not being purchased by the UGA library. The Fincher library is developing into a substantive collection.

■■ Brought national and international scholars to Meigs Hall.

Without a doubt, our national reputation is strengthened with each visitor who meets our faculty and students.

Most importantly, IHE carefully watches over each gift to maximize its impact and to target support of the central mission of the Institute—teaching and learning. Every fund and every activity is meant to enhance the educational experience of our students and to create an enhanced environment for their education.

Some of you give through payroll deductions, others send checks or give online, and a few are beginning to place the Institute in their estate planning. For all of these gifts, now and planned for the future, I am grateful. If you would like to discuss one of the funds below, or how you might become more active in Institute activities, please give me a call. Thank you for your support and confidence in our programs and our future. I hope to see you at the McBee lecture in the fall.  IHE Funds Institute Arch Development Fund: Gifts to this fund are used to bring prominent scholars to UGA for the educational policy series and other programs and to assist students and faculty with conference and research-related activities.

Thomas G. Dyer Academic Support Fund: Established to honor Professor Dyer following over three decades of distinguished faculty and administrative leadership. This fund supports the academic mission of the Institute, including the doctoral program in higher education, visiting scholars, and student programs and activities.

Louise McBee Professorship of Higher Education: The Louise McBee professorship of higher education was established in recognition of the quarter-century of distinguished service Dr. McBee rendered to UGA and in recognition of her public service to the state of Georgia as a member of the Georgia General Assembly. The McBee professorship sponsors the annual lecture each fall.

Zell and Shirley Miller Fellowship is awarded annually to a promising doctoral student in the Institute of Higher Education. The scholarly potential of the candidate together with his/her academic record and professional achievement are considered. The award supports the professional development of the Miller fellow.

Faculty

Libby V. Morris

Thomas G. Dyer

Director, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, and Professor of Higher Education

Vice President for Instruction Emeritus and University Professor Emeritus

Charles B. Knapp

Marguerite Koepke

Distinguished Public Service Fellow, Professor of Economics, and President Emeritus

Sheila Slaughter

Louise McBee Professor of Higher Education

James C. Hearn

Associate Director, Professor of Higher Education, and Adj. Professor of Sociology

Larry L. Leslie

Adj. Associate Professor, Higher Education

Distinguished Visiting Professor of Higher Education and Senior Fellow-in-Residence

J. Douglas Toma

Robert K. Toutkoushian

Associate Professor of Higher Education and Adj. Associate Professor of Law

Professor of Higher Education

Patricia L. Kalivoda

Adj. Assistant Professor, Higher Education; Associate Vice Pres.

Public Service and Outreach

Erik C. Ness

Assistant Professor of Higher Education

Karen Webber

Graduate Coordinator and Associate Professor of Higher Education

Institute of Higher Education The University of Georgia Meigs Hall Athens, Georgia 30602-6772 Address Service Requested

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

Permit No. 11 Athens, Georgia

Haarlem, the Netherlands Ed.D. students (from left) Lisa Fowler, Danny Sniff, and Wendy Hoffman in Haarlem, the Netherlands, playing “Imaginalia” — a game that involves designing a higher education system for an imaginary country roughly the size of Portugal. The 2-year executive Ed.D. program includes a study abroad component each summer. In 2011, students will be able to choose between trips to Africa, Asia or Australia.