Higher Education Program Faculty
Dr. James DeVita
Ph.D., University of Tennessee Knoxville
Current Leadership Role(s)
Director of Applied Learning at UNCW and co-editor of the Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education
Research Topics or Areas of Specialization
Access and student success | Scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) | Applied/experiential learning | High impact practices (HIPs)
Why are you passionate about educating future higher education professionals?
The world is changing and so is higher education. We need to inspire innovative thinkers who appreciate the complex issues we face and are committed to engaging in the hard work it takes to make positive change--at any and every level.
What is an award or grant you've received that speaks directly to your area of specialization or that brings you the greatest pride?
College Teaching Award in 2019
What professional organizations do you belong to?
ISSOTL, inSEA, ACPA, POD and contribute to several other journal review boards (JDHE, JSARP, TIA).
What's a fun or interesting fact about you?
I’m a dance teacher and performer in Wilmington.
Sample of Articles Written
Informal Recreations Relationship with College Student Stress and Anxiety
Dr. Denise Henning
Cherokee-Ani Yun Wiya/Choctaw
Ph.D., New Mexico State University
Current Leadership Roles
Director UNCW/3C Collaborate
CEO Kiona - Oxendine & Associates (Non-Profit)
Facilitator Mentor - Aspiring Leaders
Facilitator Mentor - Women Honoring Other Women
Research Topics or Areas of Specialization
Appreciative Inquiry | Leadership | Indigenous Studies | Community College Leadership
Current Projects
Aspiring Leaders Summit for Community College Leaders
CCURE Transfer student undergraduate research initiative
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Leadership
Women in Academic Leadership
Why are you passionate about educating future higher education professionals?
Our capacity to make the world a better place, particularly around issues of equity and inclusion of those who have been marginalized in our society.
What is an award or grant you've received that speaks directly to your area of specialization or that brings you the greatest pride?
AERA/ Spencer Fellow, 1997-98
Honor and Leadership Award – ACPA - NAIN Affinity Group, Houston Texas, 2018
Paul Harris Fellow 2017
“Shawane Dagosiwin” Honouring Our Scholars – Aboriginal Education in Manitoba 2010
AERA/Spencer Fellow
What professional organizations do you belong to?
ACPA, WHOW, American Indian Professorate
What's a fun or interesting fact about you?
I am a long-time potter and have served in senior leadership roles in higher education such as VP Academic & Research and 3 term President
Sample of Articles Written
A Changing World, Again
Dr. Kevin R. McClure
Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park
Current Leadership Roles
Program Coordinator of the M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration
Research Topics or Areas of Specialization
Finance | Management | Leadership | Policy | Facilities | Organizational Theory
Current Projects
I'm currently co-editing two volumes, one on regional public universities that will be available in New Directions for Higher Education in 2020 and another on broadly accessible institutions available through Routledge in 2021.
Why are you passionate about educating future higher education professionals?
Bigger picture: I care deeply about higher education and its role in our society. Educating future professionals and leaders is one way I hope to ensure we continue to have strong colleges and universities. Smaller picture: I love teaching and advising graduate students who are doing important work in our field.
What is an award or grant you've received that speaks directly to your area of specialization or that brings you the greatest pride?
I was recently awarded a grant from the Joyce Foundation to study the effects of COVID-19 on rural broadly accessible institutions.
What professional organizations do you belong to?
ASHE, AERA
What's a fun or interesting fact about you?
Despite studying intimidating-sounding things like finance, I spend most of my time playing cars and dinosaurs with my sons. I love coffee, novels, running, gardening, and the Baltimore Ravens.
Sample of Articles Written
Privatization as the New Normal in Higher Education
Dr. Wilson K. Okello
Ph.D., Miami University
Current Leadership Roles
ASHE Council on Ethnic Participation (CEP) Co-chair
Research Topics or Areas of Specialization
Student Development Theory | Anti-Blackness in education | Critical masculinities | Anti-deficit curriculum and pedagogy.
Current Projects
Currently, I am leading a study that examines how Black students understand self-love as they transition out of the collegiate context. Secondly, I am co-editing a New Directions in Student Services book on trauma-informed practice in higher education.
Why are you passionate about educating future higher education professionals?
As educators, we play an indispensable role in creating life-giving, livable spaces and experiences for the people we encounter and the communities we serve. What we do-every decision or non-decision-matters beyond ourselves and ripples across time. I give myself to this work with the hopes that our collective efforts might support the potential of people and communities, now and into the future.
What is an award or grant you've received that speaks directly to your area of specialization or that brings you the greatest pride?
I received the Black Faculty Griot Award from the Upperman African American Cultural Center. A griot in the African indigenous tradition is the holder of memory and keeper of stories. In an historical moment when Black mattering is contested terrain, my research, teaching, and service is committed to speaking Black life into existence.
What professional organizations do you belong to?
ASHE, ACPA, AERA
What's a fun or interesting fact about you?
I am in love with the arts, specifically, spoken word poetry!
Sample of Articles Written
“Loving Flesh”: Self-Love, Student Development Theory, and the Coloniality of Being
Dr. Symphony Oxendine
Cherokee/Choctaw
Ph.D., UNC Greensboro
Current Leadership Roles
Program Coordinator of the Ed.D. with a specialization in Higher Education Leadership; ACPA–College Student Educators, International, Special Advisor to the Executive Director for Native, Aboriginal, and Indigenous issues; Grand Treasurer of Alpha Pi Omega Sorority, Inc.
Research Topics or Areas of Specialization
Indigenous people in higher education | Pathways into the student affairs profession | Historically Native American Fraternities and Sororities | Appreciative inquiry | Student engagement | Leadership in higher education
Current Projects
Mentorship for Native students, using appreciative inquiry for faculty professional development, and Native student leadership experiences in higher education
Why are you passionate about educating future higher education professionals?
Having had over 6 years of practitioner experience along with my teaching and research, I am able to offer a diverse perspective to student experiences, programs/services in higher education, and campus environments. I feel that as a graduate preparation program faculty member, I am able to help shape the direction and transformation of higher education and student affairs professionals by contributing to the understanding of various institutional, psychosocial, and political processes as a means to develop the capacity for change.
What is an award or grant you've received that speaks directly to your area of specialization or that brings you the greatest pride?
I have been inducted into the Oklahoma State University Fraternity and Sorority Hall of Fame and have an award named in my honor in Fraternity and Sorority Affairs called the "Symphony Oxendine Multicultural Greek Council Chapter Excellence Award".
What professional organizations do you belong to?
ACPA, ASHE
What's a fun or interesting fact about you?
Humor is one of my top character strengths and I love to incorporate memes into my teaching and work with students. I'm always on the lookout for and create new memes.
Sample of Articles Written
Factors Related to Native American Students’ Perceptions of Campus Culture
Dr. Andrew Ryder
Ph.D., Iowa State University
Current Leadership Roles
Chair, Department of Educational Leadership
Research Topics or Areas of Specialization
Assessment for improving professional practice in student affairs | Campus climate and environment assessment | Evolving nature of the student affairs profession | Student affairs work in international contexts | Rural community colleges
Current Projects
I'm currently serving as the Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and managing several efforts to support our excellent graduate programs, faculty, and students.
Why are you passionate about educating future higher education professionals?
I was an administrator in student affairs for many years before becoming a faculty member. I love our profession and its ability to transform students' lives in so many ways. Teaching the next generation of higher education professionals allows me to continue shaping and giving back to a profession that has meant to much to me.
What is an award or grant you've received that speaks directly to your area of specialization or that brings you the greatest pride?
Emerging Scholar Award, ACPA - College Student Educators International, awarded to early-career scholars who demonstrate professional promise by senior scholars in student affairs and higher education.
Dissertation of the Year, Council for the Study of Community Colleges, awarded through peer-review of nominated entries.
What professional organizations do you belong to?
ACPA, NASPA, ASHE, Council for the Study of Community Colleges
What's a fun or interesting fact about you?
I coordinate UNCW’s international internship in higher education at Maynooth University in Ireland. Traveling to Ireland with students is one of my favorite activities every year!
Sample of Articles Written
“Whispers and Concerns About the Lawyers Taking Over”: How Student Affairs Professionals Think About the Growing Need for Legal Education
Dr. Marilyn Sheerer 
Ph.D., Ohio University
Research Topics or Areas of Specialization
Women in leadership | Retention of minority faculty | Change in higher education
Current Projects
Serving as the mentor for a STEM grant project with colleagues in Math and Science Education
Why are you passionate about educating future higher education professionals?
I believe there are young professionals out there who would do very well in higher education and bring a new lens to curriculum and student engagement.
What is an award or grant you've received that speaks directly to your area of specialization or that brings you the greatest pride?
ECU - Innovative Leadership Award
What professional organizations do you belong to?
AERA
What's a fun or interesting fact about you?
I was a newlywed in 2017 for the third time! Very unexpected! It's never too late to fall in love again! My children agree! I am also presently retooling as a faculty member after having served as an administrator for the past 25+ years.
Dr. Samantha Silberstein
Ph.D., Indiana University, Bloomington
Research Topics or Areas of Specialization
Co-curricular learning | Student affairs pedagogy | Administrative activism | Participatory methodologies
Current Projects
I have three projects I am currently working on. The first is a participatory, pedagogy-driven exploration of students’ co-curricular learning for critical consciousness development. I am also working with the National Survey of Student Engagement to assess quality and equity in high-impact practices (HIPs). Lastly, as part of the Feminist Research Collective, I have an ongoing open-source project collecting and sharing the everyday life story narratives of women across the globe.
Why are you passionate about educating future higher education professionals?
My undergraduate experience drastically shaped my understanding of myself and society, in large part due to the support of several higher education professionals. I recignize the potential for practitoners to educate and guide undergraduate students in their development through intentional programming, planning, and mentoring. There is immense opportunity to create change within our education system and I am excited to contribute to this endeavor.
What is an award or grant you've received that speaks directly to your area of specialization or that brings you the greatest pride?
In 2019, I received a scholarship to attend the Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR) Institute through The Graduate Center, CUNY. This was my first real introduction to CPAR as a methodology and opened my eyes to the many possibilities that exist within research.
What professional organizations do you belong to?
ASHE, AERA, ACPA, NASPA, ICQI
What's a fun or interesting fact about you?
I have aphantasia which means I have no mind’s eye – in fact,I am five sense blind in my mind! Because of this, I incorporate a lot of visuals into my work, particularly collaging.
Sample of Articles Written
Dennis, B., Carspecken, L., Zhao, P., Silberstein, S., Bose, S., Saxena, P., Palmer, D., Washington, S., Elfreich, A. (2020). Digital migrating and storyworlding with women we love: A feminist ethnography. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241620937758
