Mile Higher Ed Podcast

Open Education Resources with Dr. Liliana Diaz and Casey McCoy-Simmons

In this episode of Mile Higher Ed, Dr. Liliana Diaz and Ph.D. candidate Casey McCoy-Simmons join Sarah and Caitlyn to talk about Open Education and Open Education Resources (OER). We discuss the benefits of OER, why Open Education is an equity issue, and the current OER policy landscape.
Here are some links to the things we talk about:
Webinar Recording: “A Not-Boring Tour of State OER Policies” https://openoregon.org/archived-webinar-a-not-boring-tour-of-state-oer-policies/
SPARC OER State Policy Tracker: https://sparcopen.org/our-work/state-policy-tracking/
Casey’s article about OER and equity: https://journals.uwyo.edu/index.php/joerhe/article/view/7183
About our guests:
Liliana Diaz Solodukhin, policy analyst with WICHE, works on a diverse range of activities including conducting and communicating policy research on a wide array of higher education-related topics, developing and sustaining relationships with external stakeholders, and conceptualizing and executing short- and long-term collaborative projects with states. Diaz received her B.S. in journalism and mass communication, B.A. in film studies, and a certificate in Technology, Arts, and Media from the University of Colorado at Boulder, earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Denver.
Casey McCoy-Simmons is a Ph.D. candidate in higher education at the University of Denver and an independent research consultant whose work spans a variety of topics including state policy discourse, open educational resources (OER), and increasing equitable access to postsecondary education. Prior to Casey's career in higher education, she worked for five years in public libraries leading community engagement and digital literacy efforts. Casey earned her B.S. in media and cinema studies and a M.S. in library and information sciences, with a certificate in community informatics, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Mile Higher Ed is a production of the Higher Education Department at the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver.

Keeping Malawian Girls in School with Alice Kanyama

In this episode of Mile Higher Ed, Sarah and Caitlyn interview Ph.D. student Alice Kanyama about her recent work in Malawi, where she provided menstruation products to girls and young women through a grant from DU’s Center for Community Engagement to Advance Scholarship and Learning. We talk about the educational landscape in Malawi, how reusable sanitary pads improve education outcomes, and why secondary schooling is a critical foundation for university access.
 
Here are links to some of the things we talked about:
 
Seeds of Promise, a non-profit organization committed to supporting Malawian youth.
Seeds of Promise’s Facebook post with photos from the day the pads were distributed.
Alice’s extended interview with 21st Century Generation, a broadcast from Zodiak Malawi.
 
About our guest: Alice Kanyama is a Higher Education PhD Student at University of Denver expected to graduate in 2027. She has 17 years of work experience in Higher Education Management gained in Malawi. She also has over ten years of experience as an instructor and lecturer in the Mass Communication Department at Africa Bible College, Malawi.  She has been a Board Member for Seeds of Promise Ministry since 2017.
 
 
Mile Higher Ed is a production of the Higher Education Department at the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver.

Supporting Transfer Students with Caitlyn Potter Glaser

In this episode of Mile Higher Ed, Sarah interviews Caitlyn about her recent work with the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students. We discuss the gap between transfer aspiration and bachelor’s degree attainment, challenges for community college students, and how practitioners can work together to understand and support students in the transfer process.
 
Here are links to some of the things we talked about:
 
The National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students- www.nists.org
Transfer Nation- www.transfernation.com
“Tracking Transfer” report from the Aspen Institute and Community College Research Center
 
About our guest: Caitlyn Potter Glaser is a Ph.D. student and Graduate Research Assistant in the Higher Education Department at the University of Denver. Her research interests include college access and equity for those on a less traditional path, including transfer students, post-traditional/adult students, and international students. Before coming to DU Caitlyn worked in Enrollment Management at a four-year university where she supported transfer students in the admissions process, as well as Articulation Specialist developing transfer pathways with partner community colleges.
 
Caitlyn holds a Master of Education in Adult Education and Development from Strayer University, a graduate certificate in Transfer Leadership and Practice from the University of North Georgia, and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
 
Mile Higher Ed is a production of the Higher Education Department at the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver.

Report on the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges with Anna Dodson

About our guest: Anna Dodson was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, and attended her undergraduate education at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, graduating with a BA in Psychology. She moved to Denver in 2019, volunteering with AmeriCorps through City Year in a Kindergarten classroom and learning valuable knowledge about the K-12 education system in Denver. She has continued to study education through the higher education lens in 2022, choosing the University of Denver to complete her MA in Higher Education because of their strong graduate assistantship program and interest in the higher education faculty’s areas of study. In the program, she has specifically enjoyed learning and researching about higher education policy and organizational change. She will graduate in June 2024.

Rural-Serving Institutions and Regional Colleges with Dr. Cecilia Orphan

In this episode of Mile Higher Ed, Dr. Cecilia Orphan joins Sarah and Caitlyn to talk about her work with ARRC, or the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges. ARRC recently released its work creating a designation for rural-serving institutions of higher education (RSIs). We discuss the role RSIs play in higher education, and why more research is needed to support this sector.
 
You can read more about this work on ARRC’s website, www.regionalcolleges.org.
 
About our guest: Dr. Cecilia M. Orphan is a working class, first-generation college graduate who received maximum Pell grants to attend college. As a child, she experienced homelessness and was a welfare recipient. She is personally familiar with the transformative nature of need based financial aid and colleges designed to expand access after attending Linn Benton Community College, a Rural-Serving Institution (RSI), and Portland State University, a Regional Public University (RPU). Simply put, attending these colleges changed her life. She has devoted my career to expanding understanding of and appreciation for RPUs and RSIs so that other students might enjoy the same opportunities she had, and so that higher education’s contributions to equity and democracy are strengthened.  Dr. Orphan is committed to bringing broader exposure and understanding to RPUs and RSIs and improve research, funding, policy, and media coverage of these sectors.
 
Mile Higher Ed is a production of the Higher Education Department at the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver.
 

Applying Critical Race Theory to Civic Engagement with Dr. D-L Stewart

In this episode of Mile Higher Ed, Dr. D-L Stewart joins Sarah and Caitlyn to talk about his new article Civic Engagement and Resisting ‘Docile Bodies’ in Postsecondary Education published in Teachers College Report. We discuss the importance of civic engagement in racially minoritized communities, why a critically-oriented curriculum is necessary in higher education, and how we must go beyond voting to increase engagement with, and participation in, our democracy.
 
A few of the things we talk about:
Racial Capitalism, coined by Dr. Cedric J. Robinson in his book Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition.
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point moved to eliminate a number of liberal arts programs in 2018, but reversed the decision in 2019
What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada
 
About our guest: Dr. D-L Stewart is Professor and Chair of the Higher Education Department in the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver. His scholarship has focused most intently on the history and philosophy of diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education, as well as the institutional systems and structures that affect the experiences, growth, development, and success of racially minoritized and queer and trans* students in settler colonial historically white postsecondary institutions.
 
 
Mile Higher Ed is a production of the Higher Education Department at the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver.
 

Supporting Non-Tenure-Track Faculty with Dr. Laura Sponsler

In this episode of Mile Higher Ed, Dr. Laura Sponsler joins Sarah and Caitlyn to discuss issues facing non-tenure-track faculty, workload equity, and how to create more leadership roles for non-tenure-track faculty. Laura’s article “Expanding Leadership Roles for Non-Tenure-Track Faculty: What Institutional Leaders Should Consider” was recently published in Academic Leader.
 
About our guest: Dr. Laura Sponsler is a Clinical Associate Professor of Higher Education at the University of Denver, as well as the Resident Scholar for Teaching and Professional Faculty in the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs. Her work broadly examines the democratic purposes of higher education, in particular how institutions provide space for voice, participation, and inclusive practices, and how these ideals are institutionalized. Dr. Sponsler’s research agenda focuses on the following areas: civic engagement; inclusive teaching, learning, and assessment; organizational change, organizational learning, and faculty development; and the experiences of non-tenure track faculty and their participation in higher education.
 
Mile Higher Ed is a production of the Higher Education Department at the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver.

Understanding women’s leadership programs with Dr. Michele Tyson

In this episode of Mile Higher Ed, Dr. Michele Tyson joins Sarah and Caitlyn to discuss the legacy of women’s colleges and women’s leadership programs in higher education. Michele recently co-authored a chapter in the newly published book Rooted and Radiant: Women’s Narratives of Leadership.
 
About our guest: Dr. Michele Tyson is clinical associate professor in the Higher Education program at the University of Denver and has worked in the field of higher education for 25+ years, with experience in student affairs, enrollment management, and student services. Her professional and research interests fall into two areas.  One is related to the preparation and development of student affairs and higher education leaders. The other is in understanding institutions as organizations and environments in which students make humanizing decisions about engagement with identity and becoming. 
 
Mile Higher Ed is a production of the Higher Education Department at the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver.

Interpreting Campus Sexual Assault Policies with Dr. Sarah Hurtado

In this inaugural episode of Mile Higher Ed, Caitlyn interviews our own co-host Dr. Sarah Hurtado about interpreting campus sexual assault adjudication policies, and how the language used in these policies sets the tone for the student experience relating to interpersonal violence and Title IX. Her article “Using Intersectionality to Reimagine Title IX Adjudication Policy” was recently published in a special issue of the Journal of Women and Gender and Higher Education.
 
About our guest: Dra. Sarah Hurtado has been with DU Higher Education since 2018. She first started in a visiting role, and loved it so much she decided to stay. She has been in her current Assistant Professor position since 2019. She teaches several courses in the program including Critical Race Theory, College Student Development Theory, and research courses. Her research focuses on addressing sexual violence among college students and how institutions contribute to the perpetration of this issue with a specific focus on the role and responsibility of faculty members. 
 
She received her PhD in higher education at Indiana University Bloomington where she served as a Project Associate for the Center for Postsecondary Research. Specifically, she worked with the National Survey of Student Engagement Institute for Effective Educational Practice. In her role, she worked with institutions to better utilize their NSSE data to inform practice. Prior to that, she worked as a Coordinator of Student Development at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for three years. She received her Masters from Indiana University Bloomington and her Bachelors from the University of Redlands.
 
 
Mile Higher Ed is a production of the Higher Education Department at the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver.

Trailer

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