Center Staff Biographies
Kay M. McClenney
Kay McClenney is Director of the Center for Community College Student Engagement and a faculty member in the Community College Leadership Program (CCLP) at The University of Texas at Austin. The Center conducts the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) and the Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE) and has now surveyed nearly two million community college students at over 800 colleges in 50 states. McClenney also directs the Center's Initiative on Student Success, a long-term student focus group research initiative supported by the MetLife Foundation and Houston Endowment Inc.
Also within the CCLP, she is senior consultant to the UT/CCLP work on the national Achieving the Dream initiative. She was co-director of CLASS — the California Leadership Alliance for Student Success and of the national Bridges to Opportunity initiative. She previously served for 10 years as Vice President and chief operating officer of the Education Commission of the States.
Dr. McClenney has served as a consultant to education institutions, state higher education systems, state government, and professional associations in 47 states and internationally. In addition, she served for a number of years as a community college educator, during which she was a faculty member, program director, system administrator, and interim CEO.
A frequent keynote speaker, Dr. McClenney also has authored numerous publications on education issues, strategic planning, accountability, student success and leadership. She earned her Ph.D. in educational administration from the Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin. Her previous degrees are a B.A. from Trinity University and an M.A. in Psychology from Texas Christian University.
Kay has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and the Executive Board of the American Association of Women in Community Colleges (AAWCC). She received the 2002 PBS O'Banion Prize for contributions to teaching and learning in America, the 2009 Mildred Bulpitt Woman of the Year Award from the American Association of Women in Community Colleges, the 2009 International Leadership Award from NISOD, and the 2011 National Leadership Award from AACC.
Jeff Crumpley
Jeff Crumpley is the Associate Director of Operations for the Center for Community College Student Engagement, a project of The University of Texas at Austin. He had previously served as a Senior Research Associate for the Center from 2002-2007.
Jeff supervises multiple aspects of operations of the Center's research initiative on three national surveys, including oversight of procedures of survey instrument development, registration, sampling, shipments, administration and scanning, institutional reporting and website development.
He is responsible for responding to questions about survey research and results; working with researchers from national organizations and other universities on special projects; and presenting conference sessions/workshops on survey results and uses of data to improve the quality of undergraduate education.
Jeff provides leadership for special projects, supervising staff, data analysis, and reporting procedures. He also oversees computer and technical support as well as equipment acquisition and maintenance for project operations and staff. He assists the Center director with general administration, including budget development and monitoring.
Before coming to the Center, he conducted program evaluations for the Texas Council on Early Childhood Intervention, the Texas Department of Human Resources, and the Texas Education Agency. He has teaching experience as an instructor at both the college level and K-12. Much of Jeff’s focus in teaching has been working with students with special needs.
Jeff earned his M.A. in Experimental Psychology and his M.Ed. in Special Education from Stephen F. Austin State University. He also holds a B.S. in Psychology from Texas Christian University.
Angela Oriano
Angela Oriano is Associate Director at the Center for Community College Student Engagement, an initiative of the Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin, where she also serves as a lecturer in the Department of Educational Administration.
Angela holds a BA in Finance from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts; an MBA with honors from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa; and a PhD in Higher Education Administration from The University of Texas at Austin’s Community College Leadership Program.
Prior to joining the Center, Angela served as the Director of Developmental Education at Southeastern Community College in West Burlington, Iowa. In this position, she led the college’s tutoring, supplemental instruction and disability support services; managed the college’s Literacy, Adult Basic Education, and Corrections Education programs; and served as an adjunct faculty member. As a doctoral student, Angela served as a graduate teaching assistant in the Community College Leadership Program and worked as a grant writer for Austin Community College, specializing in regional and national foundations.
Angela has served as a board member of Iowa Sister States, a volunteer, public-private, non-profit organization working for the cultural and economic interests of Iowa. Angela currently sits on the board of the Manengouba Foundation, Inc., an organization devoted to improving educational opportunities and outcomes for students in Cameroon, Africa.
Courtney Adkins
Courtney Adkins is Survey Operations Coordinator for the Center for Community College Student Engagement, a research and service initiative that is part of the Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin. She coordinates all aspects of the survey administration process for participating colleges in the Center’s three national surveys. She also collaborates on many written materials that the Center publishes; during her tenure at the Center she has worked to expand its collection of communication tools and resource materials for member colleges. In addition, she represents the Center at various national conferences and workshops. From 2003 to 2007, Courtney served as College Liaison for the Center.
Courtney holds a BA in English Education and an MA in English Literature from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. She holds a PhD in English Literature from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. While in graduate school, she taught as an adjunct faculty member at South Louisiana Community College. Before coming to the Center, Courtney taught English full-time at Baton Rouge Community College. She is currently an adjunct faculty member at Austin Community College.
Arleen Arnsparger
Arleen Arnsparger is
project manager of the Initiative on Student Success and Student Success BY THE NUMBERS at the Center for Community College Student Engagement
(CCCSE) at The University of Texas at Austin. In her role leading the qualitative work of the Center, Arleen works with community colleges throughout the country,
conducting focus groups and interviews with students to learn about their college experiences, interviewing presidents, and listening to faculty and staff.
Arleen is co-author, along with Kay McClenney, and producer of the recently released book and DVD, Students Speak – Are We Listening? Starting Right in the
Community College.
Since her early career as a TV and radio reporter and newscaster, she’s been a professional listener! Arleen asks questions that get to the heart of people’s perceptions, experiences and actions.
A frequent keynote speaker and facilitator, Arleen has served as a consultant to educational institutions and other organizations whose leaders are striving to improve performance and build capacity within their organizations.
Arleen previously served as an administrator at community colleges in New York and Colorado; adjunct faculty in both 2- and 4- year institutions; and an education policy advisor, working with governors, state leaders, higher education systems and school districts throughout the country on education improvement. In that role, she co-authored How to Deal with Community Criticism of School Change, Building Community Support for Schools: A Practical Guide to Strategic Communication, and Do-It-Yourself Focus Groups: A Low-Cost Way to Listen to Your Community.
In addition to her work in the community college sector, Arleen writes and speaks about how to bridge generational differences in the workplace. She is co-author of the books: Millennials@Work: Engaging the New Generation and 4genR8tns: Succeeding with Colleagues, Cohorts & Customers.
Amina Benchouia
Amina Benchouia serves as College Relations Specialist
at the Center for Community College Student Engagement, a research and service initiative that is part of the Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin. In this role, Amina is responsible for supporting the development and implementation of all activities for the Center's college relations functions, including communications, events, and publications.
Before joining the Center in early 2009, Amina served as an editor for the Saxon Phonics and Spelling program at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Supplemental Publishers in Austin, and as a copy editor, wire editor, and designer at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times in South Texas. Amina earned a Bachelor of Journalism with a concentration in print media in 2006 from the University of Texas at Austin, where she edited for The Daily Texan and served as president of the Society of Professional Journalists (UT Austin Student Chapter).
E. Michael Bohlig
Michael Bohlig is Senior Research Analyst for the Center for Community College Student Engagement, part of the Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin. Mike has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with an emphasis on tests and measurement and with expertise in psychometrics, item response theory, structural equation modeling and longitudinal data analysis. He has extensive experience in applied statistical research in the areas of epidemiology, community-based clinical trials in behavioral research, and pharmaceutical clinical trials which provides him with an excellent understanding and knowledge as well as extensive skills in conducting rigorous scientifically-based research.
Dr. Bohlig supervises the Research and Data Analysis team which is responsible for data management and reporting for the Center’s three national surveys. He is also responsible for psychometric analysis of the Center’s instruments and statistical analysis of the Center’s extensive data base on over one million community college students.
Colleen Bullock
Colleen Bullock is a Research Associate at the Center for Community College Student Engagement, an initiative of the Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin. In this role Colleen is responsible for creating and explaining data used by the center, and for developing data used in the web reporting system. Colleen has analysis experience in epidemiology, demography, econometrics, and has used her knowledge of informatics to assist in developing web data query systems. Prior to joining the Center, Colleen worked as a research manager for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, where she provided, analyzed, and explained maternal and child health data to researchers, legislators, and the general citizenry.
Colleen earned her Master's degree in medical informatics and completed doctoral coursework in educational psychology/
psychometrics at the University of Missouri, Columbia. While at the university, Colleen worked for the Center for Distance and Independent Study, where she analyzed exams using quantitative and qualitative psychometrics and assisted students in understanding test results.
Emmet Campos
Emmet Campos is the High-Impact Practices Project Coordinator with the Center for Community College Student Engagement. This project is a research and practice-improvement initiative focused on Identifying and Promoting High-Impact Educational Practices in Community Colleges and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Lumina Foundation.
Prior to joining the Center, he worked with The University of Texas at Austin's Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (DDCE) including serving as Project Director with the Institute for Community, University, and School Partnerships (ICUSP), an initiative that links university resources with communities and schools in East Austin. He has also worked at Austin Community College as an instructor and in a variety of administrative capacities, most recently with the Latino/Latin American Studies Center (El Centro), an inter- disciplinary, college-wide academic and cultural center supporting Latina/o and Mexican-American students and with the Mexican-American/Chicano Studies Department. He has also served as a consultant to Austin ISD's Department of Diversity and Intercultural Relations (DDIR).
Emmet earned a PhD in Cultural Studies in Education/Curriculum and Instruction at The University of Texas at Austin where he focused on examining linkages between student learning, critical pedagogy, and identity formation in various educational contexts.
Chris Cosart
Chris Cosart is the Web and Database Administrator at the Center for Community College Student Engagement, part of the Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin.
Chris previously worked as a database developer and data manager at the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency and at MD Anderson Cancer Center. He has taught as an adjunct faculty member at Houston Community College and Lone Star College – Montgomery.
He has a B.A. from Rice University and an M.A. from The University of Texas at Austin.
Angela Peña de León
Angela Peña de León is a College Liaison for the Center for Community College Student Engagement, a research initiative of the Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin. Angela guides member colleges through the survey process including pre- and post-survey administration.
Upon earning a Bachelor of Arts in Government from The University of Texas at Austin, Angela served as clerk for the Texas House of Representatives’ Higher Education Committee, chaired by former Texas State Representative Irma L. Rangel. After her first legislative session, Angela served as an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) in Seattle, Washington, where she assisted students in completing their degrees, finding jobs, and engaging in opportunities for positive personal development.
Once Angela returned to Texas she again served as clerk for the Higher Education Committee and subsequently the Appropriations Committee. Prior to joining the Center, Angela managed the Texas Dropout Recovery Pilot Program at the Texas Education Agency and earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Texas State University. During her tenure at the TEA, Angela supported the work of the Texas P-16 Council and directed the use of P-16 Individual Graduation Plans for students participating in the Dropout Recovery Pilot Program.
Zach Garcia
Zach Garcia is an Administrative Associate at the Center for Community College Student Engagement and provides administrative support for the Center’s Identifying and Promoting High-Impact Educational Practices in Community Colleges initiative. He also works with Arleen Arnsparger, Project Manager of the Initiative on Student Success.
Before joining the Center in 2011, Zach served the UT community at Payroll Services since 2008. He holds a B.S. in Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin.
Deryl Hatch
Currently a Research Associate for the Center for Community College Student Engagement, Deryl Hatch has been at the Center since 2009. He has led the development of several Center survey projects addressing the institutional programs and practices that foster engagement, student and faculty participation in such practices, and the engagement of online students, among others. He has also lent his research experience to the gathering and analysis of qualitative data for the Center's Initiative on Student Success.
Deryl is a doctoral student in Higher Education Administration at The University of Texas at Austin, where he studies institutional research, research design and methodology, and international comparative education. He holds an Ed.M. degree in Technology, Innovation, and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. degree in Linguistics from Brigham Young University.
Carlos Hernandez
As the Webmaster for the Center for Community College Student Engagement, Carlos main role is to develop new web applications, administer and maintain the center websites, and coordinate the online faculty survey (CCFSSE). In addition, he also provides the programming needs of the Center by creating and developing robust systems that are both efficient and intuitive for a wide variety of users.
Carlos received his B.A. in Spanish from The University of Texas at Austin and holds a teaching certification in Bilingual Education. Prior to joining the Center, Carlos served as the Migrant Program Liaison for Taylor Independent School District where he also taught 4th grade bilingual education classes.
Cat Jones
Cat is a Project Coordinator for the Center for Community College Student Engagement. Before coming to the Center, Cat taught composition at the University of Colorado at Denver while serving as the Assistant Director of the Writing Center at CU. She left CU to be an assistant professor and writing lab coordinator at the Community College of Denver. While pursuing a doctoral degree at The University of Texas at Austin, Cat was a teaching assistant for the Director of Higher Administration graduate program.
Cat received her GED from Colorado Mountain College in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. She earned a bachelor in arts in literature from Metropolitan State College of Denver and a master of arts in the teaching of writing from the University of Colorado at Denver. Cat is pursuing her doctorate from the Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin and writing her dissertation.
Kyle Lovseth
Kyle Lovseth is a Research Associate
for the Center for Community College Student Engagement, a research and service initiative that is part of the Community College Leadership Program at the
University of Texas at Austin. Kyle earned his B.S. in Psychology from the University of Kansas, where he studied language and emotion processing in general
and special populations. He then studied at McGill University in Montreal, where he investigated language processing and earned a Master’s Degree in
Experimental Psychology. In addition to his research at McGill, he developed a passion for statistics and statistical programming, which he now utilizes
at CCSSE.
Christine McLean
Christine McLean
serves as a Senior Associate for The Center for Community College Student Engagement, an initiative of the Community College Leadership
Program at The University of Texas at Austin. In that capacity, Christine leads and facilitates Center statewide workshops and coordinates
the Center’s work on “Keys to Student Success: Strengthening the Role of Part-Time Faculty in Community Colleges.”
Christine incorporates quantitative data, student and faculty voices, and promising practices in presentations, keynote speeches,
and focus group conversations surrounding student engagement, learning, and success. Previously, Christine served as the
Center's College Relations Coordinator during which time she contributed to the writing and editing of publications, coordinated marketing,
membership, college relations efforts, and the annual workshop. She also filled the role of College Liaison and coordinated
CCSSE’s work with the League for Innovation’s College and Career Transitions Initiative and the Irvine Foundation’s
SSPIRE Initiative.
Christine comes to the Center from the ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges (ERIC/CC) where she served as the Outreach Coordinator. Christine has worked directly with community college transfer students as the Assistant Dean of Admissions and the Phi Theta Kappa Alumni Advisor at Stetson University (Florida) and authored work on reverse transfers in community colleges.
Christine earned her Ed.D. from the Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin, and her dissertation focused on Hispanic-serving community colleges. She earned a master’s degree in Higher Education and Organizational Change at UCLA and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Education from UCLA.
Christopher Orozco
Christopher Orozco is an Administrative Assistant for the Center for Community College Student Engagement, a research and service initiative that is part of the Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin. He heads the production level for the Center, which includes putting together and scanning any materials for the Community College Survey for Student Engagement (CCSSE) and the Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE) projects and transferring the data from the surveys for the research team to analyze. He also is responsible for any shipping in and out of the Center, which includes workshops and conferences, while keeping inventory of all supplies needed for the many projects the Center has through out the year.
Marlana Rodgers
Marlana Rodgers is an Administrative Assistant for the Center for Community College Student Engagement. Marlana joined the Center in August 2008 and coordinates travel, conferences and workshops for the Center. Marlana holds a BS in Advertising from The University of Texas in Austin.
Judy Row
Judy Row is the Administrative Manager for the Center for Community College Student Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin. In this capacity, she contributes to all administrative processes within the Center. Judy manages invoicing and payment tracking for CCSSE, SENSE, and the CCFSSE. She also handles all logistical arrangements for the annual National Advisory Board meeting, as well as the annual CCSSE Workshop in conjunction with NISOD. Judy is the assistant to the Center director, Kay McClenney.
Prior to joining CCSSE in 2001, Judy’s University of Texas experience included working in the office of the Director of Admissions, assisting the dean of the College of Pharmacy, and acting as graduate coordinator for the Institute for Neuroscience. Judy also worked at the University of California, Irvine for the California Alliance for Minority Participation (CAMP), a program designed to ease the transition of high school students into the California university system.
Brandy Shaw
Shaw is the Administrative Associate for the Student Success BY THE NUMBERS project and supports the college service providers in their work with Texas community colleges. She previously worked for The University of Texas in administrative capacities, including event planning and purchasing.
Shaw is currently pursuing her Bachelor's degree in Multidisciplinary Studies with concentrations in English, Liberal Arts, and Humanities from The University of Texas El Paso.
Myndi Swanson
Myndi Swanson is a College Liaison for the Center for Community College Student Engagement, a research initiative of the Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin. Myndi provides support to member colleges during the survey administration process and responds to inquiries about survey implementation.
Prior to joining the Center, Myndi served as a Research Assistant at The University of Texas at Austin's Institute for Organizational Excellence where she coordinated large-scale survey research projects. She has also done program evaluation, research support and strategic planning in the non-profit sector.
Myndi is a licensed social worker and holds a Master of Science in Social Work, a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in Business Foundations, all from the University of Texas at Austin.
Evelyn Waiwaiole
Evelyn Waiwaiole is the Program Manager of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation- and Lumina-funded initiative Identifying and Promoting High-Impact Educational Practices in Community Colleges, as well as of the The Kresge Foundation-funded initiative Improving Outcomes for Men of Color in Community Colleges.
Prior to coming to the Center for Community College Student Engagement, Evelyn was the Suanne Davis Roueche NISOD Director and Lecturer in the College of Education at The University of Texas from 2007 to 2011. In 2006, she led the Community College Bridges to Opportunity Initiative, also at The University of Texas at Austin. She has also served as associate director of NISOD; project manager for the MetLife Foundation Initiative on Student Success; college relations coordinator for the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE); and policy analyst for the Center for Community College Policy, Education Commission of the States (ECS).
Recognized as a 2002-2003 Associates Fellow with The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, Evelyn is known for her keen awareness of policy leadership and its impact on higher education. She has also served on the ETS National Community College Advisory Committee and the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) Advisory Board and is the author of articles related to student success, retention, and persistence. In 2009, Evelyn was recognized as a Distinguished Graduate of the Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin.
Evelyn earned a Doctorate from The University of Texas at Austin in higher education administration, with a specialization in community college leadership; a Master's in economics from The University of Oklahoma; and a Bachelor's in psychology from Texas A&M University.
John Weafer
John Weafer is the Business Manager for the Center for Community College Student Engagement. His responsibilities include financial reporting, budgeting, contracts, grants, and related business processes.
He has 20 years of business experience in both public and private organizations. His previous higher education experience includes the UT Dean of Students Office, UT Quality Center, UT Institute for Geophysics, and ten years as the Business Officer for the UT Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (formerly the Division of Community and School Relations).