Students & Graduates

Our Students
Our students bring a vast spectrum of experience to their studies. Some teach in community colleges; others teach at 4-year colleges and universities. Many are preparing for career change coming from the government, the military, or the business world.

There are currently 160 graduate students in the program. An average of 10 students complete the doctorate each year. Our students have published in Community College Week, Community College Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, ERIC, and other professional venues.  All students are required to submit proposals, presentations, or drafts for publication during their participation in the program.

Here are some of the interesting ventures our Higher Education Program students have participated in:

Kevin Christian (DA student) facilitated the "African American Community College Presidents - Leadership in the 21st Century" session at the National Council on Black American Affairs Leadership Development Institute for African American Midlevel Administrators in Community Colleges.  Moreover, he presented at the Hillsborough Community College in Tampa at their conference "Black, Brown and College Bound - Strategies, Best Practices, and Model Programs to Strengthen the Future of African-American and Hispanic Males." 

Becky Ericson, DA student and Astronomy Lab Coordinator for the Department of Physics and Astronomy, presented a workshop and a poster paper in summer 2007 at the Cosmos in the Classroom conference at Pomona College, Pomona CA.  This Astronomical Society of the Pacific sponsored the conference.

Laura Hill (DA student) was promoted to the postion of Executive Director of University Advancement at the Virginia International University.  She also presented a 90-minute workshop on using theatrical techniques to engage ESL learners at the Washington Area Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (WATESOL) conference held in October 2007.

Harvey Jacobson, who graduated with a Certificate in College Teaching in May 2007, is the new Entertainer Coordinator at Greenspring Residence for Senior Citizens in Springfield, Virginia, and is presently booking large ensembles such as the Virginia Chamber Ensemble, the NiteHawks Swing Band and other groups as well.

Edith Kennedy (DA student) gave a presentation at the NVCC Power Up Your Pedagogy conference on January 3rd, 2008. Her session titled "Assessing to Achieve the Dream," regarded using Classroom Assessment Techniques to help students attain their educational goals.

Rodney McFadden, who completed the certificate in community college teaching in summer 2007, recently completed the Right Start in Teaching Economics Program, which is sponsored by the Foundation for Teaching Economics.  Right Start gives new teachers of economics the skills to identify basic economic content and develop lesson plans for effective teaching.

Frost Mclaughlin (DA Program) participated in a TYCA -SE panel in Louisville, KY, as a reviewer of the TETYC journal  (Teaching English at a Two Year College) on February 22, 2008.   She also present a poster of part of her dissertation research at the Graduate Student Symposium at the College of William and Mary in March 2008.

Barry McManus (DA student) recently published an article in Crime and Justice International (July/August 2007, Volume 23, Number 99) for Sam Houston State University's Criminal Justice Center. The article, "Interviewing the Islamic Extremist," offers a balanced picture of the 9/11 tragedy and how the highjackers could have possibly been identified and stopped.

Alan More, a student in the College Teaching Certificate Program, was awarded the Faculty Achievement Award by GMU’s Bachelor of Individualized Study (BIS)  Program for his leadership and commitment to excellence in adult education.  Alan began teaching in the BIS program in 2005 after retiring from a long career in the Federal Government career, where he dealt largely in the national security community.  He feels that his many courses in the Higher Education Program have given him insights into adult learning that have been invaluable to his approach to teaching BIS students.  He also is very thankful to former HEP Academic Director Dr. Vicki Salmon for pointing him towards the BIS Program as a possible teaching venue.  Alan’s prior faculty incarnations have included teaching geography at the State University of New York at Buffalo and Ohio University, as well as national security issues at a US government university.   He also has masqueraded as a ski instructor at Holiday Ski Resort in Western New York state and a climbing instructor on the slope slopes of Kilimanjaro in East Africa.  He hopes to enter the DA Program in Fall 2008

Former BIS Director Jenny Verdaguer and BIS Advising Director Mark Sistek present Alan with the 2007 Faculty Achievement Award.  

Joan Giampa Petro (DA student) exhibited her painting "Ipod" at the 2008 Mid-Atlantic New Painting Exhibition at the University of Mary Washington Galleries.  The exhibition was juried by John B. Ravenal, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. 

Joan also participated in a museum show at Rawls Museum Arts, an affiliate of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The exhibition, Contemporary Virginia Painters, Process Unveiled, ran from January 11th 2008 through February 22nd 2008.   This show may travel in conjunction with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for two years.

Nicole Sealey ( MAIS in Higher Education) spoke at Virginia State University during their celebration of Black History Month titled "Carter G. Woodson and the Origins of Multiculturalism."  Inspired by research she has done as a masters student in the HEP program (particularly in her History of Higher Education, Higher Education Law, and Student Services courses), Nicole presented a reflection of the struggle for equal opportunity in higher education. The presentation reviewed historic and current effects of political and legal sanctions as these events opened up education for minorities in the United States; created a respect for diversity in Higher Education; and facilitated a discussion on ways that Higher Education can continue to foster learning in diverse environments in spite of new challenges on the landscape for underrepresented minority groups.

Marilyn Sharif began her Doctor of Arts degree in Fall 2007 with a focus on international higher education. She hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts, with distinction, and her Master of Arts degrees in sociology at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. She has worked professionally for the US Bureau of the Census, The British Council, her husband's international management consulting business, and has extensive experience in the Middle East. Since 1994, Marilyn has worked at George Mason University as an Academic Advisor in the School of Management (SOM). She is SOM's undergraduate liaison to the Management faculty, the Office of International Programs and Services, the Office of Global Education, and Mason's University Scholars Program. She has been active in advising SOM's undergraduate students in the China 1-2-1 program. This fall, she will electronically advise SOM students at Mason's campus in Ras Al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. Marilyn is a member of Phi Beta Delta, an Honor Society for International Scholars. She resides in Fairfax, Virginia with her husband Faysal and her elderly mother. Faysal and Marilyn have four adult children and two grandchildren.

Marilyn Sharif

Rebecca Walter (DA student) received the 2008 Spirit of King Award on January 30, 2008, in a ceremony held in the George W. Johnson Center's Dewberry Hall.   The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Planning Committee honored Ms. Walter because of her commitment to the development of a multicultural campus community through her advocacy for equality and justice.  She is the Associate Director of Faculty Partnerships and Curriculum Development for the Multicultural Research and Resource Center as well as an adjunct faculty member with the Department of Communication.  For additional information about Ms. Walter and the Sprit of King Award, please read the February 5th article in The Mason Gazette.

The Fall 2007 CHSS Graduate Orientation was held on August 23rd in the Center for the Arts.  Our newly admitted students were greeted by HEP's department representative, Nina Joshi, and got to chat with other students in the program.  The students were later welcomed by Dr. Jack Censer, Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences as well as other representatives from CHSS, such as Dr. Jamie Cooper, Associate Dean of Graduate Academic Affairs and Susan Swett, Director of Graduate Admissions.

The Fall 2007 Convocation was held on Saturday, September 8, in Dewberry Hall.  It was a time for new and returning students, faculty and staff to meet, greet, and discuss the relevance and direction of the program.  Highlights included a keynote address by Dr. John O’Connor, the new Higher Education Program Director: “Navigating in a Perfect Storm: Teaching and Learning in the Future.”  And there was plenty of discussion about the program's expectations as HEP will be adding a PhD to its curriculum starting in Fall 2008 as well as a certificate in Higher Education Administration while enhancing the DA program.  The MAIS degrees in Community College Teaching and Higher Education will soon become full Master of Arts degrees housed in HEP as well.  Students participated in two breakout sessions: a faculty led morning session and then a student headed afternoon seminar.  Session topics included blogging; publishing and presenting; higher education and public life; and dissertation and proposal writing.  After the morning session, students enjoyed a catered lunch while participating in round table discussions, which included ways to enhance the program’s visibility in the local communities and beyond.  With HEP approaching its 20th anniversary as a higher education leader in not only the Washington Metropolitan Area but in the country, this year's convocation was an important one, and the department thanks everyone who participated in this annual event.

Dr. O'Connor gives the keynote       Dr. O'Connor gets everyone's         Time to meet and greet other

address. Great leader; great smile!    full attention.                                   students in the program.

Dr. R. Claire Snyder (front right)      Both faculty and staff exchange      More discussions at each table.

leads a lunchtime discussion.             ideas about the program.  

Here's one of many students            Now here's a feast set for a great        It's good to be first in line.

enjoying this year's convocation.      bunch of HEP students!

Dr Mark Kidd's spring 2008 Contemporary College Student class photo. 

Here's a blast from the not so distance HEP past:  A photo of Dr. John Cavan's spring 2001, EDCC 892, Community College and Multi-Cultural Issues class.

From left to right (front row) is Laura Casal, Salome Turnberger, Ann Ludwick, Bruce Burslie; and from left to right (back row) is David Meng, Graham Barton, Sanford Geraci, Gary Hagan, Joanne LaBeouf, and Dr. John Cavan.

Photos from the 2006 Convocation and other HEP events

BACK TO TOP