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Higher Education: Creating Pathways for Brighter Futures
These are the meeting resources from the 2023 Forum Annual Meeting which took place from April 26-28, 2023 in Tucson, AZ.
Carnegie Classification Redesign
During a time of heightened focus across the nation on issues of social and economic mobility, diversity, equity, and inclusion, attention must be paid to the manner in which higher education institutions address these areas. The Carnegie Foundation and ACE believe the time is right to transform the Carnegie Classification system to reflect the nation’s pressing social, racial, and economic concerns and challenge higher education institutions and their public, social, and commercial sector partners to meaningfully address them. During this session, Forum members will hear from ACE and members of its technical review board and/or institution round tables on the proposed changes to the Carnegie classification system.
Sara Gast
Deputy Executive Director for the Carnegie Classifications, American Council on Education
Sara Gast
Deputy Executive Director for the Carnegie Classifications, American Council on Education
Sara Gast is the deputy executive director for the Carnegie Classifications, supporting the redesign and development of the Basic and Social and Economic classifications. She joined American Council on Education in May 2022, and prior to that served as the chief of staff and executive director of strategic communications at the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, a K-12 nonprofit that works to ensure every student is taught by an effective educator. Prior to joining NIET, Gast worked at the Tennessee Department of Education and served as the director of communications for Commissioner Candice McQueen and served at the U.S. Department of Education for five years as a press aide and director of strategic communications. Gast graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in English and sociology.
Mushtaq Gunja
Executive Director of the Carnegie Classification Systems, Senior Vice President, American Council on Education
Mushtaq Gunja
Executive Director of the Carnegie Classification Systems, Senior Vice President, American Council on Education
Mushtaq Gunja serves as executive director of the Carnegie Classification systems and senior vice president at American Council on Education (ACE), where he is in charge of running and reimagining the Carnegie framework. Prior to joining ACE, Gunja served as assistant dean in academic affairs at Georgetown University Law Center (DC). He also serves as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown Law and teaches class related to litigation, including criminal procedure and evidence regularly. Gunja also served as the chief of staff to the under secretary at the U.S. Department of Education and Deputy Associate White House counsel in the Obama Administration. Gunja graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School (MA) and magna cum laude and with honors from Brown University (RI) with a B.A. in political science and diplomatic history.
Holistic Credit Mobility: Centering Learning in Credential Completion
This session will define the concept of holistic credit mobility and propose a framework to understand how higher education can be responsive to the needs of mobile students. The presentation will include a discussion of the supports needed and the challenges to achieve holistic credit mobility for students.
Martin Kurzweil
Vice President, Educational Transformation, Ithaka S+R
Martin Kurzweil
Vice President, Educational Transformation, Ithaka S+R
Martin Kurzweil, JD, is vice president, educational transformation, at Ithaka S+R, a not-for-profit research and consulting service with a mission to improve access to knowledge and education worldwide. Since launching the educational transformation program in 2015, Kurzweil and his team have conducted research, coordinated cross-institutional initiatives, and advised education leaders and policymakers on topics such as student debt, institutional finance, transfer, and the use of technology in teaching and advising. Among numerous other publications, Kurzweil is the co-author of Equity and Excellence in American Higher Education, which received the 2006 American Educational Research Association Outstanding Book Award.
Chau-Fang Lin
Senior Analyst , Ithaka S+R
Chau-Fang Lin
Senior Analyst , Ithaka S+R
Chau-Fang Lin is a senior analyst at Ithaka S+R in the Educational Transformation program. Her work focuses on program evaluation and mixed methods research on teaching and learning and student success strategies. Prior to joining Ithaka S+R, Lin supported institutional planning and decision-making as an institutional researcher at Hamilton College. She holds an Ed.D. in leadership and learning in organizations from Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, a master’s degree in higher education administration and policy from Northwestern University, and a master’s of public administration and bachelor’s degree in economics from Cornell University.
No Holding Back: Lessons from Institutions in Analyzing Administrative and Student Success Holds Data
Since 2022, 12 member institutions of the Alliance and Forum have participated in a community of practice along with WICHE and AACRAO to analyze the impact that transcript holds policies have on student outcomes. Two institutions from this community of practice will share their initial findings. One institution found they had over 200 different types of holds. Another institution found a bug in their SIS code meant they were withholding transcripts from students even when the institution owed the student money. Next summer, WICHE and AACRAO will be releasing a seminal brief from this work as well as a technical guide that other institutions can use to replicate this work.
Maren Haavig
Provost and Dean of Research, Sponsored Programs, and Graduate Studies, University of Alaska Southeast
Maren Haavig
Provost and Dean of Research, Sponsored Programs, and Graduate Studies, University of Alaska Southeast
Maren Haavig serves as provost and dean of research, sponsored programs, and graduate studies at the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS). Previously, she was the associate dean of the UAS School of Arts and Sciences and an associate professor of accounting. Haavig received her B.A. from Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies at Western Washington University and a B.B.A. and M.B.A from UAS. She received a Doctorate in Business Administration from Walden University in 2019.
Wendy Kilgore
Director of Research, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers
Wendy Kilgore
Director of Research, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers
Dr. Kilgore has more than 20 years of experience as a higher-education administrator, researcher and consultant in the United States and Canada. Her experience and proficiency lie in professional disciplines related to enrollment management and enrollment services, including the use of technology, organizational restructuring, student-centric business-practice development, policy development and management of comprehensive collaboration to support enrollment efforts.
Prior to joining AACRAO, Dr. Kilgore served as state dean of enrollment services for the Colorado Community College system, which consisted of 13 colleges. Before moving to Colorado, she was the director of admissions and the registrar for the Pima County Community College district, a large urban community college headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. Her professional and consulting experience spans a wide array of institutions, including large public research universities, small, private faith-based institutions and private for-profit institutions.
Marlena Pangelinan
Vice Provost for Institutional Effectiveness, University of Guam
Marlena Pangelinan
Vice Provost for Institutional Effectiveness, University of Guam
Marlena Pangelinan is vice provost for institutional effectiveness at the University of Guam providing support to all programs and the institution in the areas of assessment, planning, data analysis, and reporting. Pangelinan served in a similar capacity at the Guam Community College prior to joining the University, including the role of assistant accreditation liaison officer and serving on several Accreditation Peer Review teams for colleges in the region. Pangelinan received an M.S. in computer information systems from the University of Phoenix in 2006 and a B.S. in business administration, MIS specialty, from California State University Long Beach in 1993.
Olivia Tufo
Manager, Community Engagement and Development, Programs and Services
Olivia Tufo is the manager of community engagement and development for the Programs & Services unit at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). The Programs and Services unit broadens student access to postsecondary education and fosters higher education collaborations that increase institutional effectiveness. Tufo manages membership of the Western Alliance of Community College Academic Leaders and the Western Academic Leadership Forum. Tufo also works on initiatives that bring together the West’s higher education leaders to address common goals and issues, such as the No Holding Back study and the Interstate Passport Network which aims to streamline the student transfer process through a nationwide network of institutions.
Highlands University’s Recovery from COVID in Times of Fire, Flood, and Water Insecurity
While trying to restore normalcy after COVID, New Mexico Highlands University experienced a sequence of crises: a massive wildfire, flooding, and water insecurity. Our leadership made numerous impromptu decisions with respect to staff shortages, data storage, instructional adaptation, and even temporary housing for the community. Join us to explore the lessons learned.
Roxanne Gonzales
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, New Mexico Highlands University
Roxanne Gonzales
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, New Mexico Highlands University
Roxanne Gonzales is the provost and vice president of academic affairs at Highlands University (NMHU). She serves as the chief academic officer providing strategic leadership and support to the president and the overall NMHU community. She received her doctorate from the University of Massachusetts – Boston in higher education administration, a M.S. in counseling from Creighton University, a B.S. in psychology Cum Laude from the University of Maryland University College, and completed the Harvard Institute for Management and Leadership in Education.
Ian Williamson
Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, New Mexico Highlands University
Ian Williamson
Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, New Mexico Highlands University
Ian Williamson, Ph.D., has served as the associate vice president of academic affairs, for New Mexico Highlands University since 2018 and the graduate dean since 2019. His primary work either involves creating collaborative teams to win grants, managing those grants, or proposing new Highlands graduate programs to the State of New Mexico and the Higher Learning Commission. Before becoming an administrator, he worked for fourteen years as a social psychology faculty whose primary research interests converged around interpersonal forgiveness. Williamson received his B.A. from Macalester College in psychology and Spanish, and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
Refocusing Higher Education’s Democratic Purpose by Supporting Students of Color
In this session, attendees will learn how Latinx students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution conceptualize, define, and practice civic engagement. The session introduces research, theoretical practice, and policy recommendations to university leadership and administrators on how institutions, specifically HSIs, can better support the civic engagement efforts of their Latinx students that move an institution from Hispanic enrolling to Hispanic-serving.
Veronica Dujon
Forum Executive Committee, State of Oregon: Higher Education Coordinating Commission
Veronica Dujon
Forum Executive Committee, State of Oregon: Higher Education Coordinating Commission
Veronica Dujon, Ph.D., is the director for Academic Policy and Authorization at Oregon Higher Education Coordination Commission. She leads the Commission’s efforts to coordinate academic programs, degree pathways, and student success initiatives among Oregon’s public universities. Dujon also oversees degree authorization for private schools, and licensing and compliance for private career schools. Prior to joining the HECC she was an associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Portland State University. Dujon did her graduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is an environmental sociologist by training. Dujon’s research and publications focus on conflicts over declining natural resources; the role of women in the global economy; and the tensions between national development strategies and forces of globalization.
Liliana Diaz Solodukhin
Senior Policy Analyst, Policy Analysis and Research
Liliana Diaz Solodukhin, policy analyst with WICHE, works on a diverse range of activities including conducting and communicating policy research on a wide array of higher education-related topics, developing and sustaining relationships with external stakeholders, and conceptualizing and executing short- and long-term collaborative projects with states. Diaz received her B.S. in journalism and mass communication, B.A. in film studies, and a certificate in Technology, Arts, and Media from the University of Colorado at Boulder, earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Denver.
Judy Marquez Kiyama
Associate Vice Provost, Faculty Development, University of Arizona
Judy Marquez Kiyama
Associate Vice Provost, Faculty Development, University of Arizona
Judy Marquez Kiyama serves as the associate vice provost, faculty development within the Office of Faculty Affairs at the University of Arizona. In this role she implements efforts that further the aims of UArizona to excel in its Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) designation through increasing institutional capacity among faculty, including developing equity-focused recruitment and hiring practices; and developing resources for research, teaching, and service. Kiyama is also a professor in educational policy studies and practice. Her research examines the structures that shape educational pathways for minoritized groups. Kiyama received her Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Arizona.