Project Members
Kelly Rosinger, Ph.D.
Kelly Rosinger is an Associate Professor in the Department of Education Policy Studies at Penn State University. Her research examines the barriers students face going to and through college and how postsecondary policies, practices, and interventions shape educational outcomes. Her current work considers how various aspects of postsecondary policies reduce (or exacerbate) racial and economic disparities in educational outcomes and how policies can be designed with equity in mind.
Justin C. Ortagus, Ph.D.
Justin C. Ortagus is a Professor in the College of Education and Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. His research typically examines how online education, community colleges, and state policies impact the opportunities and outcomes of underserved students. His state policy work focuses primarily on the equity, effectiveness, and unintended consequences of state policies in higher education.
Robert Kelchen, Ph.D.
Robert Kelchen is a Professor of Education and head of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research areas include higher education finance, accountability policies, and student financial aid. He is particularly interested in how colleges respond to external financial pressures and the resulting implications for students.
Dominique Baker, Ph.D.
Dominique Baker is an associate professor in the College of Education and Human Development’s School of Education and the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Delaware. She is also a UD Cochran Scholar.Her research focuses on the way that education policy affects and shapes the access and success of minoritized students in higher education. She primarily investigates student financial aid, affirmative action and admissions policies, and policies that influence the ability to create an inclusive & equitable campus climate.
Junghee Choi, Ph.D.
Junghee Choi is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies at the University of Oklahoma. His research examines educational policy, finance, and organizations, with a particular focus on topics relating to government funding, organizational behavior of postsecondary institutions, and international comparative education.
Zyrashae Smith-Onyewu, PhD
Zyrashae Smith-Onyewu, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Higher Education Administration & Policy program at the University of Florida. Her research focuses on examining college access for minoritized and low-income students, specifically how institutional structures perpetuate educational inequities by serving as barriers to postsecondary access and enrollment.
Will Zahran
Will Zahran is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin. His research examines how state-level policies shape postsecondary education affordability and student success.
Graduate Students
Annie Everett
Annie Everett is a Ph.D. student in the Higher Education program at Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests include student learning outcomes, state-level accountability and assessment efforts, and policy implementation on the postsecondary campus.
Hope Allchin
Hope Allchin is a PhD student in the Higher Education Administration & Policy program at the University of Florida. Her research interests include college access, admissions practices, and student activism on college campuses.
Muhammad Kara
Muhammad Kara, a native of Istanbul, Turkey, was raised in Dallas, Texas, where he obtained a B.S. in political science and public administration. Upon graduation, Muhammad moved to Washington, DC, to pursue his MPA at the George Washington University. As a master’s student, Muhammad was a fellow for the U.S. House of Representatives, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Government Accountability Office. Muhammad is pursuing his PhD in higher education at Penn State University. His research explores the relationship and impact state and federal policy has on higher education institutions’ efforts on access, affordability, and equity.
Gus Gluek
Gus Gluek is a Ph.D. student in the Higher Education program at the University of Pennsylvania. His research examines how fiscal policies shape student and institutional behavior. Prior to graduate school, Gus worked as a research analyst at the Tennessee Board of Regents and examined the impact of Tennessee Reconnect on student outcomes.
Joseph Sturm
Joseph Sturm is a Doctoral Candidate at Penn State University exploring how college admission policies and practices influence college-going outcomes for minoritized students.
Former Research Team Members
Karly Caples
Karly Caples is a graduate student in the department of Environmental and Global Health at the University of Florida. Her research interests include the role and impact of state policies on underserved populations.
Mitchell Lingo
Mitch is a senior research scientist at Iowa College Aid. His research focuses on the high school to college pipeline and the associated effects of financial aid programs on access and outcomes.
Jiayao Wu
Jiayao Wu is a Senior Evaluation Associate at the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice. Her research interests include the impacts of state policy and institutional policy on college access and success in higher education.
Lynneah Ciera Brown
Lynneah is current a Policy Analyst at SHEEO and is finishing up her Ph.D. in Higher Education at Penn State University. In her position at SHEEO, she works with state higher education executive officers and their staff members to provide them with tools to advance higher education.
Alexander Cassell
Alex Cassell is a research associate at the American Council on Education and a Ph.D. candidate in higher education at Penn State. His research interests center on higher education governance and finance policy.
Nick Voorhees
Nick Voorhees is a Ph.D. student in the Higher Education Administration & Policy program at the University of Florida. His research interests include post-baccalaureate student outcomes and state policies in higher education.
Garam Chu
Garam Chu is a Ph.D. student in the Higher Education Administration & Policy program at the University of Florida. His research interests include the economics of education, quantitative methods, and state policies in higher education.
Olivia Morales
Olivia Morales is a second-year doctoral student in the Higher Education Administration & Policy program at the University of Florida. Her research interests center on using quantitative methods to critically examine racial inequities and injustice in the higher education context. Her recent research endeavors have explored the relationship between local funding for community colleges and total institutional revenues.
Anna Peters
Anna Peters is a PhD student in the Higher Education Administration & Policy program at the University of Florida. Her research interests include policy and finance issues in P-2o related to demographic and population shifts throughout the United States, sociological issues related to funding equity and adequacy in the United States P-20 system, and higher education budgeting around academic and student affairs.