STEM Pathways: Building Partnerships Between 2-Year and 4-Year Institutions

Xueli Wang is the Barbara and Glenn Thompson Endowed Professor in Educational Leadership and a Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She teaches graduate courses on community colleges, assessment in higher education, and mixed methods research in education. With a focus on STEM education and community colleges, Dr. Wang’s research is aimed at identifying practices, structures, and policies toward transformative change for optimal educational opportunities and equitable outcomes. In collaboration with a number of community and technical colleges, her NSF-funded longitudinal, mixed methods projects have investigated beginning two-year college students’ pathways and success, particularly in STEM fields, as well as how faculty development translates into teaching practices that subsequently shape students’ experiences and outcomes. A recent example of Dr. Wang’s work is her book “On My Own” (Harvard Education Press, published April 2020). Grounded in longitudinal, mixed methods research, this book unravels inequities in access to transfer, particularly in STEM fields of study, and illuminates policy and practices toward cultivating equitable STEM transfer pathways.

Andréa is a first-generation high school and college Spanish-speaking Latina. She is a forward-thinking, strategic leader with 14+ years of experience working with large and small-scale organizations. Andréa has a record of success in program design and implementation and a commitment to sustainability with diverse teams to accelerate access opportunities for underrepresented learners and communities. Andréa currently serves as Director of the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU)/Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). In this role, Andréa leads the Frontier Set initiative, a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant, developing and implementing university and community partnerships that focus on student access and success and workforce pathways for adult- and stop-out learners. Before this role, she held various higher education student affairs positions at community college(s) and public research institutions, supporting underrepresented faculty, staff, learners, and families on multiple initiatives. In addition to her work at APLU/USU, Andréa serves part-time as Principal Research Assistant with GELLC, co-leading Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts, through an Asset-Based and Continuous Improvement lens. Her experience and knowledge, with a particular emphasis on equity, access, and social justice, allow her to lead cross-institutional and community initiatives. In addition, Andréa will be graduating with her Doctorate of Education in June 2022 in Educational Leadership and Management, focusing on Education Policy from Drexel University.

Kent Phillippe serves as the vice president, research & student success where he oversees the association research efforts of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). These responsibilities include overseeing association surveys, data collection and analysis, and providing formatted data to both internal and external audiences. In addition, he oversees the association’s efforts on the Voluntary Framework of Accountability and the data tool development for the Achieving the Dream initiative. He joined the AACC staff in 1994. Phillippe serves on many national research advisory boards, including technical review panels that oversee Federal Postsecondary data collection for IPEDS, NPSAS, BPS, and B&B. He serves as the staff liaison for the Commission on Research, Technology, and Emerging trends, as well as liaison for two AACC affiliated councils: the Council for Study of Community Colleges, and the National Community College Council for Research and Planning. Phillippe earned a master’s degree in clinical and family counseling from Southern Methodist University, a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Hamline University, and earned doctoral credits in the child and family clinical psychology program at Michigan State University.