blog posts

• Joey Shepherd (he/him/his)

  Apr 14, 2025 10:45 am13 views

  Joey Shepherd is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership with concentrations in Higher Education and the History of Education. He has ten years of experience as a higher education administrator and has previously served as a director of the following areas: academic accommodations/accessibility services, first-year transition support, housing, peer tutoring, residence life, student conduct adjudication, and student support. His research focuses on historical and contemporary barriers to higher education access, equity, and inclusion; first generation college students; and critical whiteness studies. 
  
  Expected Year of Graduation: 2028
  
  Educational Background:
  Ph.D. (in progress) Education Policy, Organization & Leadership, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  M.A., Adult and Higher Education, Morehead State University, 2018
  B.A., Education Studies, Berea College, 2014
  
  
  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeyshepherd/

• H. M. Kuneyl M.A.Ed.

  Jan 3, 2023 2:30 pm81 views

  Kuneyl (Ka-Neil) is a Ph.D. student in EPOL with dual concentrations in Higher Education and History of Education. Her research interest centers the history of two-year colleges which were founded in the Jim Crow South, minority serving institutions, and racially marginalized community college students. Kuneyl has served in higher education for over eight years and currently works as a graduate research assistant for the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL).

  Advisors: Dr. Baber, Lorenzo and Dr. Jon Hale 

  Education: Lone Star Community College (A.S.) Texas A&M University (B.S.) Virginia Tech (M.A.Ed.). 

  LinkedIn: H.M. Kuneyl | LinkedIn

• Alexander Rosado-Torres (he/him/él)

  Dec 28, 2021 2:45 pm193 views

  Alex is a doctoral student in the History of Education concentration via Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership. In addition to this he also holds a graduate minor in Queer Studies within the department of Gender & Women Studies. 
His research is rooted in documenting the role of LGBTQ+ student and teacher activism in educational spaces. Alex is particularly curious how past LGBTQ+ activism has shaped modern day educational spaces which are viewed as LGBTQ+ friendly/safe.

  As a Queer Latinx person, he is especially interested in exploring the experiences of racialized LGBTQ+ folks within these educational contexts. Overall, his research is most informed by oral history, archival methods, and critical theory.

  Advisor: Dr. Jon Hale 

  Anticipated Graduation: 2026 

  Social Media: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram

• Christopher Getowicz (he/him/his)

  Dec 11, 2021 9:30 am416 views

  As a doctoral student at the University of Illinois in the Department of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership, my current research focuses on the historical intersections of education, race, protest, urban renewal, and law-and-order politics in the midwestern United States. 

  My recent work has focused on the intersections of race, housing, and school closure in Minneapolis, Minnesota between the 1970’s and 2000’s. My ongoing work is currently focused on the rise of law-and-order politics, school desegregation, urban renewal, and student protest during the late 1960's and early 1970's. 

  • Academic Background:

  • • Ph.D. (in progress) Education Policy, Organization & Leadership, History of Education - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
    • M.Ed. Instructional Leadership, Educational Policy Studies - University of Illinois, Chicago 
    • B.A. History - Univerity of Minnesota, Twin Cities

  • Advisor: Dr. Jon Hale
  • Anticipated Graduation: 2026
  • LinkedIn: Christopher Getowicz