Graduate Research Assistants
Graduate Research Assistants
Jessica Bennett is a doctoral student in Higher Education. She is a Dean's Graduate Assistant for Engaged Scholarship and Research in Education and is working with Dr. Kimberly Griffin as a research assistant in the Center. Her research interests include the intersections of faculty identity and career, the sociology of knowledge, and how campus impacts faculty and students. Jess received an M.A. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from The Ohio State University and a B.A. in Cognitive Science from the University of Virginia. Prior to coming to Penn State, she worked for three years as a House Advisor in Residential Life at Vassar College.
Rachel Frick Cardelle is a doctoral student in the Higher Education Program. She received her B.A. from the University of Colorado, Boulder and her Masters in International Economics, and Social Change and Development from SAIS at Johns Hopkins. She worked for a number of years in the field of grassroots community development for Latin America at Oxfam America, Aesculapius International Medicine, and the InterAmerican Foundation, an independent U.S. government agency. This work included spending two years in Central America training indigenous female health promoters for a small non-profit organization. Domestically she ran a policy research and advocacy program for homeless with HIV/AIDS in Miami, Florida, and there published a paper entitled "Service-System Gaps for People with HIV/AIDS and Additional Health Challenges" in AIDS & Public Policy Journal. For the last five years, Ms. Frick Cardelle has been working at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, PA as the Grants Specialist. Her research interests are focused on community colleges and access, retention and success issues, particularly for underrepresented groups and women.
Charles E. Gibson, III is a Bunton-Waller Fellow and Research Assistant at the Center for the Study of Higher Education. Charles’ research interests include institutional research, postsecondary educational access and equity, college student success, and traditionally underrepresented populations in higher education. Charles is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Higher Education Program. Charles received the B.A. degree from Wake Forest University where he studied music and English, and completed the M.A. and Ed.S. degrees in Higher Education at Appalachian State University. Immediately prior to joining the Higher Education Program at Penn State, Charles served as Research Assistant to the Dean of the Graduate School and Chief Research Officer at Appalachian State University for two years. Charles' other professional experiences include serving Wake Forest University's divisions of Student Services and Multicultural Affairs, educational non-profit organizations, and providing consulting services to small businesses. Charles serves as Vice President of the Higher Education Student Association (2012-2013), and is a member of the Higher Education in Review editorial board.
Claire Gilbert is a Ph.D. student in the Penn State Higher Education Program. Prior to coming to Penn State, Claire received her B.A. in Communication Studies from Northwestern University with a second major in Political Science. Claire spent the past year as a human capital practitioner at Deloitte Consulting working in Human Resource Transformation.
Sarah Hoffman is a Ph.D. student in the Higher Education Program and a research assistant in the Center. She completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Linguistics and Spanish at the University of Colorado, Boulder (2003) and a Master of Arts degree in International Studies at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver (2008). Sarah served as an education volunteer with Peace Corps in Gramsh, Albania (2004-05) and worked as a faculty data research analyst at the University of Denver.
Her research interests include the diffusion of international cultural norms through institutions of higher education, the mobility of scholars and students, and international higher education policy.
Rodney Hughes is a Ph.D. student in Higher Education at Penn State. Rodney has a B.S. and M.A. in Economics, both from Penn State. Rodney's research interests center on the economics of education, especially with respect to tuition pricing, financial aid, and administrative effeciciency at the institutional level and the relationship between education and economic growth at the state, national, and international levels. Rodney also has interests in classroom pedagogy, and the has taught courses in microeconomics and international trade. Only July 1, 2008, Rodney began a three-year appointment to Penn State's Board of Trustees, and he served as Chair of the board's Committee on Campus Environment for 2010-2011.
At the Center for the Study of Higher Education, Rodney works as a research assistant for Dr. John Cheslock.
Andrew Koricich is a Ph.D. student in Higher Education. He works with Dr. John Cheslock as a graduate assistant in support of Penn State's certificate program in Institutional Research. Originally from Edinboro, Pennsylvania, Andrew holds a B.S. in Information Sciences and Technology from Penn State and an M.B.A. from Johns Hopkins University. His higher education interests include education policy and understanding how college access and completion rates vary across rural communities. Andrew also provides academic skills tutoring for student-athletes and served as Vice President of the Higher Education Student Association (HESA) for the 2010-11 academic year.
Prior to joining the Higher Education Program at Penn State, Andrew lived in Washington, DC for five years and worked for GEICO managing systems analysis and software development teams. In addition to higher education, Andrew's interests include traveling, college football, discovering new music, and spending time with his dog.
Karla Loya is a doctoral candidate in the Higher Education Program. Born in Mexico, she received her B.S. in Higher Education with a focus on gender studies from the University of Colima, Mexico, and her Masters in Higher Education from the University of Kansas. She has worked for more than ten years in higher education administration, and her last position was Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at a graduate-level seminary school in Kansas City, MO.
While interested in several aspects of higher education, her research focus will be in the areas of institutional assessment and gender. Her interest in assessment led her to be a co-coordinator for the institution's self-study at her previous job, and she is currently and AQIP Peer Reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association.
She is a graduate assistant and a Bunton-Waller Fellow in the Center, where she works with Drs. Robert Reason and Susan Rankin.
Michael F. Minutello is a Ph.D. student in the Higher Education Program. Prior to enrolling at Penn State, Michael earned a B.A. degree in Religious Studies from the College of the Holy Cross and a graduate degree in Theological Studies from Vanderbilt Divinity School. In addition to completing his B.A. and M.T.S. degrees, Michael has worked in a variety of capacities related to secondary education.
Michael is currently the research assistant for the Access theme in the Center for the Study of Higher Education.
Seung Wan Nam is a Ph.D. candidate in the Higher Education Program. He earned both B.A. and M.A. in Education from Seoul National University (SNU) in Korea. Prior to coming to Penn State, Seung Wan worked in the Faculty of Liberal Education, which takes the responsibility for general education at SNU, and participated in the project of the establishment of College of Liberal Studies at SNU. Seung Wan is currently a research assistant for the international HIgher Education theme in the Center for the Study of Higher Education.
Justin Ortagus is a Ph.D. candidate in the Higher Education Program. He received his B.A. in English and M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from the University of Florida. Justin's research interests include funding and policy issues for online education, institutional research, leadership practices and education finance. Justin currently works with Dr. John Cheslock, serving as the Research Assistant for a team that examines the effective use of institutional data to address financial challenges in higher education.
Jared Rodrigues is a Ph.D. candidate in the Higher Education Program. He has a B.A. in English from the University of the South (Sewanee), and an M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology from Temple University. Prior to coming to Penn State, Jared worked in higher education in alcohol and wellness education and first-year programs.
