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Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research at NC State Names 2020 ECMC Foundation Postsecondary CTE Research Fellows

February 28, 2020

By Janine Bowen, NC State University

Eighteen Fellows from institutions across the nation have been selected to participate in the Postsecondary Career and Technical Education Research Fellows Program at NC State University, sponsored by the ECMC Foundation. The program is part of the ECMC Foundation CTE Leadership Collaborative.

The Postsecondary CTE Research Fellows Program at the NC State College of Education was established in 2018 through a three-year, $2 million grant intended to enhance and strengthen postsecondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) research to improve student success.

The 2020 ECMC Foundation Postsecondary CTE Research Fellows and their sponsors are listed below:

  • Kawana W. Johnson, Ph.D., sponsored by Bruce T. Lamont, Ph.D., at Florida State University
  • Lindsey Hammond, sponsored by Erik C. Ness, Ph.D., at the University of Georgia
  • Misti R. Jeffers, sponsored by Dorian L. McCoy, Ph.D., at the University of Tennessee
  • Bryanne Peterson, Ph.D., sponsored by Susan Renoe, Ph.D., at the University of Missouri
  • Adam K. Atwell, sponsored by James E. Bartlett II, Ph.D., at NC State University
  • Melita Pope Mitchell, Ed.D., sponsored by Laura Colson McLean, Ed.D., at Johnson C. Smith University
  • Anthony Hancock, Ph.D., sponsored by Sarah Armstrong-Tucker, Ph.D., at the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education
  • Forest O. Peterson, sponsored by Martin A. Fischer, Ph.D., at Stanford University
  • Stephanie A. Fitzsimmons, sponsored by Victor M. Hernandez-Gantes, Ph.D., at the University of South Florida
  • Gresham D. Collom, sponsored by J. Patrick Biddix, Ph.D., at the University of Tennessee
  • Hayley A. Spencer, sponsored by Shouping Hu, Ph.D., at Florida State University
  • Jennifer Fox, sponsored by Andrew Harvey, Ed.D., at Pepperdine University
  • Alain L. Ayangma II, sponsored by James E. Bartlett II, Ph.D., at NC State University
  • Jonathan L. Montoya, sponsored by Mark Warschauer, Ph.D., at University of California-Irvine
  • Brennan J. Carr, Pepperdine University, sponsored by Cameron Sublett, Ph.D., WestEd
  • Jennifer A. Freeman, sponsored by Michael A. Gottfried, Ph.D., at University of California-Santa Barbara
  • Anthony Perry, sponsored by Gina Childers, Ph.D., at Texas Tech University
  • Mikko Silliman, sponsored by David Deming, Ph.D., at Harvard University

Fellows will participate in two training institutes focused on postsecondary CTE research, webinars focused on research methods, a mentor program, as well as the ECMC Foundation CTE Leadership Collaborative Convening, which will bring together the Fellows from all parts of the Leadership Collaborative.

“The 2020 Postsecondary CTE Research Fellows represent scholars from across the country that will be conducting research to improve learning, completion, equity and labor market outcomes of students,” said Associate Professor James Bartlett, II, Ph.D., who is the principal investigator on the project.

Fellows will each complete a research project focusing on a variety of topics related to postsecondary CTE.

Gresham Collom’s project, for example, will use a mixed-methods study to investigate Tennessee Reconnect, a scholarship for adult learners, and the impact the program had on degree attainment and workforce outcomes. Adam Atwell’s project will focus on alignment of education with business needs. His project seeks to understand how community colleges are using labor-market data in postsecondary CTE. The project seeks to understand how high-performing community colleges are using real-time job data to impact curriculum development, make decisions on program offerings, and create student success. The project will collect data on community colleges’ use of data as well as best practices of institutions that demonstrate close alignment to the labor-market demands. Mikko Silliman’s project, meanwhile, will study the consequences of a rapid change in CTE delivery by linking data to labor market outcomes. Forest O. Peterson’s project will examine the need to integrate new methods into the workforce curriculum in order to produce technically skilled graduates.

Fellows will each be mentored by a leading CTE researcher to support their research during the year-long fellowship experience. Following completion of the program, Fellows will submit their research for presentation and publication.

This group marks the second cohort of Postsecondary CTE Research Fellows since the program at NC State began. Sixteen Fellows participated in the program in 2019.  “For too long research focused on postsecondary CTE has lacked adequate visibility and financial support,” said Jennifer Zeisler, senior program director of career readiness, ECMC Foundation. “ECMC Foundation is proud to support this second cohort of ECMC Foundation Fellows participating in the Postsecondary CTE Research Program at North Carolina State University, who will interrogate some of the greatest barriers to success for postsecondary CTE students.”

“We look forward to working with the second cohort of Fellows on their postsecondary CTE projects and anticipate collaboration with the first cohort of Fellows to build a stronger pipeline of postsecondary CTE researchers,” said Co-principal Investigator and Teaching Assistant Professor Michelle Bartlett, Ph.D.

The program will kick off on April 15 with an institute in San Francisco, Calif., prior to the American Education Research Association (AERA) 2020 conference.


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