Higher Education Administration Faculty
Dr. Danielle Davis
My scholarship centers upon understanding the educational and occupational experiences of traditionally marginalized populations, particularly African Americans, via the application of anti-oppressive and indigenous research methods. My most recent publications use collective auto-ethnography to explore graduate learning and my experience as a Queen-Mother of African descent.
Dr. Mark Pousson
J. Mark Pousson Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Higher Education Administration Program in the School of Education at Saint Louis University. His professional background is diverse having worked in Student Affairs’ mental health services, service learning initiative, and disability services. In Academic Affairs, he has worked as an administrator of an academic resource center and as an educator and researcher. His research focuses on effective interventions to increase disability awareness in K-12 learning environments and college students with and without disabilities’ identity development, sense of marginality and mattering, and transition from high school to college.
Dr. Molly Schaller
Molly Schaller is the Program Director of the Higher Education Administration, Associate Professor and Associate Dean in the School of Education. Dr. Schaller continues to teach on the undergraduate and graduate levels. Prior to her arrival at SLU, she worked for 28 years at the University of Dayton as a faculty member, department chair, and Fellow in the Learning Teaching Center. Prior to her faculty position she worked for 10 years in student affairs administration. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the Ohio State University, Master’s degree from Miami University in College Student Personnel and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Ohio University. Her research focus is on college student development, with special emphasis on sophomore students. She has consulted with numerous institutions as they have worked to develop their sophomore year experience programs and has published numerous articles and book chapters on the topic. In addition to this work, Molly conducts research on the relationship between physical space and learning. With particular focus on finding methods to assess this relationship. Lastly, Dr. Schaller explores the unique roles of Catholic higher education and student affairs in Catholic higher education.
Dr. Beth Shindel
Beth Winfrey Shindel holds degrees from Agnes Scott College (B.A.), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (M.S.), and a Ph.D. in Education from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, with an emphasis in adult education, workforce education and training, and higher education administration. Her expertise lies in the areas of educational research, with well-developed mixed method capabilities employing advanced quantitative and qualitative design and analysis competencies. Additional expertise includes college and work readiness for traditional and non-traditional students in Grades 9 through 20. In support of her online education work, she holds two Quality Matters (QM) Training Certificates. Dr. Shindel served as Principal Investigator and fiscal officer for grants and fee-for-service projects related to community outreach, school policy analysis, professional certification, and college and workforce preparation, total budgets exceeding $10M. Her record of progressive higher education administrative experience includes program coordinator, graduate program director, department chair, and dean of a school for non-traditional students. A significant part of her career has been in managing and delivering voluntary education programs to military members. Dr. Shindel is currently Professor of Higher Education Administration at Saint Louis University, School of Education. She served in administrative and faculty roles at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, College of Education and Human Services. She is enthusiastic about the role of universities in preparing its constituents for work and community service through innovative education and training programs.
Recommended Dissertations:
The higher education administration faculty selected the following dissertations as examples to use as a reference for a dissertation for the Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration. If you go to Pius Library's homepage and click on Databases, the letter D and then Dissertations @ St. Louis University, you can enter the name of the student. On the page that opens, you will find a page to enter the name of the student and his or her dissertation can be viewed on-line.
Dr. William L. Hubble: “The Influence of Critical Reflection on Student Learning and Developmnet in a Nuclear Medicine Technology Program"
Dr. Michael Jones, "A Grounded Case Study Exploring how First Year African American Students Perceive Spirituality as a Sign of Strength while Experiencing Academic Probation"
Dr. Keely M. Meiners: “Factors Predicting Passage of the National Physical Therapy Examination in a Private Midwestern University"
Dr. Shawn L. Naccarato: “Predicting Alumni Giving at a Public Comprehensive Regional University: Predictive Multivariate Causal Models for Annual Giving, Significant Cumulative Giving, Major Giving, and Planned Giving"
Robert Pampel: "Significant Learning Experiences and Ignatian Pedagogy: A Case Study of Curricula, Academic Practices, and Graduate Outcomes in Jesuit Universities' Honors Programs"
Dr. Nicolas C. Sharp: “Students Working for Their Education: An Exploratory Study on Student Engagement at Work Colleges"
Dr. Michaela Thomas, "Social Expectation and Colorism: Informing the Educational Divide and Influencing Life Chances of African-American Women"
Christina Tisher: "College Students' Perceptions of Their Anxiety Experiences: A Mixed Methods Convergent Design"