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Brian Mells Recognized as Field Award Recipient

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Dr. Brian Mells, Principal at Whites Creek High School in Metro Nashville Public Schools named as recipient of William J. and Lucille H. Field Award for Excellence in Secondary Principalship for the State of Tennessee.

The Field Award was established to recognize one outstanding secondary school leader each year who demonstrates leadership excellence through commitment to the values of civility, candor, courage, social justice, responsibility, compassion, community, persistence, service, and excellence. Administered by the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences at the University of Tennessee, the Field Award identifies a Tennessee secondary school principal whose life and work are characterized by leadership excellence and encourages secondary school principals to pause and reflect upon their current leadership practice and to consider their experience, challenges, and opportunities in light of the personal values that they embody. 

 

The Field Award recipient for this year is Dr. Brian Mells. Principal of Whites Creek High School in Metro Nashville Public Schools. A secondary principal since 2016, Dr. Mells holds a Bachelor’s degree from The University of Tennessee, a Master’s from Tevecca Nazarene University, an EdS and an EdD from Carson-Newman University.  During Dr. Mellls’ tenure at Whites Creek High School, he has led his campus to excellence by supporting academic rigor and student achievement, and by strengthening positive relationships with all stakeholders. Dr. Mells is an exceptional school leader who has taken the initiative to implement numerous programs on his campus, inspire instructional innovation, and improve student achievement. Dr. Mells stated that his “core belief of [his] leadership is that all students can achieve and grow academically, socially, and emotionally, when the appropriate systems and structures are in place for them to be successful. 

Dr. Mells is an innovative school leader who is passionate about developing collective efficacy and collective accountability among his faculty and staff to ensure that they achieve excellence for all stakeholders. Under Dr. Mells’ leadership, Whites Creek High School was able to increase all academic achievement outcomes for all students and earn an overall composite TVAAS of Level 5 for the first time in school history and has maintained that status for the past two years. Dr. Mells was nominated for the Field Award by MNPS superintendent, Adrienne Battle and endorsed by the Chief of Innovation, Renita Perry. Perry commented, “Dr. Mells is an innovative school leader who is passionate about developing collective efficacy and collective accountability among his faculty and staff to ensure that they achieve excellence for all stakeholders.” The department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Tennessee is proud to name Dr. Mells as this year’s Field Award Winner. Congratulations, Dr. Brian Mells! 

Accolades

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Taylor Gordon, (Cohort 2023) is a 2022-2023 Southern Association of College Student Affairs (SACSA) Ambassador. 

Mackenzie Harville, (Cohort 2023) Summer ACUHO-I Intern, University Housing and Dining, University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX).
Paige Hlad and Michael Hazan, (Cohort 2022) presented at the 2022 SEAHO Conference. Presentation title, Checking the Label: Planning an Inclusive Dietary Experience for Students & Staff” (Asheville, NC). 

Maggie Krzeminski, (Cohort 2023), won 1st placed in the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisor (AFA) – Order of Omega Case Study – Crisis Management Track competition. 

Christopher Ndiritu (Cohort 2018) Assistant Director, University Housing, University of New Orleans is the NASPA Region III 2022 William Leftwich Outstanding New Professional. 

Annemarie Thomas, Maxwell Lacosse, and Jenna Ward (Cohort 2023) and Michael Hazan (Cohort, 2022) won 2nd Place in the 21st Annual StudentAffairs.com Virtual Case Study Competition. 

Sam Raines, (Cohort 2022) co-published the following article titled: Asanas in action: A review of the psychological effects of yoga in prison populations. In the Annual Review of Addiction & Offender Counseling: Best Practices. 

CSP Welcomes New Coordinator

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Mary DueñasMary Dueñas has joined the College Student Personnel (CSP) program as the new program coordinator and is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Dueñas holds her PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. With publications in the Journal of College Student Development, Journal of Latinos and Education, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, and Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, Dueñas’ research focuses on the Latinx college student experience. Her interest attends to critical and social processes that affect this student population, with the intent for the findings to inform how student affairs can and should work with these students to promote their success.

Prior to her position at the University of Tennessee,Knoxville, Dueñas served as Posse Mentor, director of two educational programs, and coordinator for a Chican@ Latin@ Studies Program. As it relates to CSP, Dueñas expressed, “I am genuinely delighted and excited to be the new CSP Coordinator! I am thrilled to continue to uplift students’ experiences and work with campus partners to enhance the program. CSP is a quality program, and to be part of it – is something special.”

New PERC Series: Student Affairs Practice & Planning in the COVID-19 Environment

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The COVID-19 pandemic has placed major constraints on student engagement, presenting unique challenges for student affairs, where success has traditionally depended on high quality, face-to-face student interactions.

Learn how institutions are adapting in PERC’s newest research series, Student Engagement Practice and Planning in the COVID-19 Environment. This series examines practices and plans in student affairs from across the nation. The series focuses on nine key areas:

• Orientation Programming Practices
• Student Government
• Student Activities and Clubs
• Fraternities and Sororities
• Community Service Programs
• Residence Life Operations & Programming
• Multicultural Engagement
• Student Health & Wellness
• Student Employment

Click here to learn more about the project and access the briefs as they become available.

Center for Educational Leadership to Facilitate the Tennessee Rural Principal Network

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The Center for Educational Leadership, directed by Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Assistant Professor Practice Dr. Jim McIntyre, was just awarded a grant from the Kern Family Foundation to more explicitly integrate character development into all leadership programming over the next three years. The award will allow Dr. McIntyre and his team, in collaboration with the American Institutes for Research, to facilitate an intensive, yearlong collaborative professional learning experience for 54 rural school principals from across the state of Tennessee.

“The power of this network is the principals,” said McIntyre. “The participants will learn with and from each other and tackle tough issues around public education in the rural context. We plan to very intentionally build a professional support network for these remarkable school leaders that will help enhance and strengthen rural schooling across the state.”

The mission of the Kern Family Foundation is to empower the rising generation of Americans to build flourishing lives anchored in strong character, inspired by quality education, driven by an entrepreneurial mindset, and guided by the desire to create value for others. They focus on initiatives that have long-term, systemic impact,

For more information on the award, see this news release from the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences. For more information on the Center for Educational Leadership, click here.

HEAM PhD Candidate Steve Syoen’s Virtual Writing Retreats Create Global Community

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Steve Syoen

Steve Syoen, Organizer of Virtual Writing Retreats

How do extroverts and social learners cope with the loss of community during a pandemic, which only intensifies the oftentimes lonely dissertation stage?

Well, if you’re ELPS PhD candidate Steve Syoen, you don’t struggle with the loss of community, you just create a new one.

Syoen began organizing his Virtual Writing Retreats in the spring of 2020 after passing comps and entering the dissertation phase of his degree: “I do best with others around me pursuing similar goals. COVID-19 struck, they closed libraries on campus, and I started working from home. My other go-to used to be McDonald’s for free WiFi, but then restaurant dining rooms closed. I needed SOMETHING… so when your natural community isn’t available, I decided to make one.”

Syoen builds community with guided chat between writing sessions.

Most of Steve’s Virtual Writing Retreat attendees are “working folks” with full lives outside their PhD pursuits, so each event usually runs from 9:15am-3:30pm EST. Syoen describes what to expect: “We start with people getting settled in, we write for 75 or 90 minutes, we take 15 minute breaks (30 for lunch), and then we write more. Before each writing session starts, participants are offered an opportunity to either speak or chat their goals for the next work period into existence. At the end of a session, participants are invited to share what they accomplished. The goal is progress, and whether that is one paragraph, one article, or an entire chapter – we celebrate it all.” Between sessions, participants chat with questions guided by Syoen about everything from favorite snacks for focus to favorite productivity tools and writing implements. “I was able to complete my detailed outline for my section! This was terrific, Steve!” one attendee reports during a break.

The goal is progress, and whether that is one paragraph, one article, or an entire chapter – we celebrate it all.

Steve Syoen HEAM PhD Candidate and Organizer of global Virtual Writing Retreats

Since beginning his Virtual Writing Retreats, Syoen’s new community has gone global. “We have people from India, China, and the Netherlands who’ve joined each of the last two sessions. The person in India has asked me to help start coordinating these for her program so she can do them in her time zone (they are 8.5 hours ahead of us) instead of attending ours in Eastern time.”

Students interested in joining one Syoen’s Virtual Writing Retreats can either send him an email or stay in the know of future events by joining the Working Folks Guide to a PhD Facebook group.

ELPS News

New Works Explore Challenges and Future of Fraternities and Sororities

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ELPS Professor Patrick Biddix’s latest co-edited volumes explore conversations about the challenges and future of fraternities and sororities.

Book cover for "Foundations, Research, and Assessment of Fraternities and Sororities"Foundations, Research, and Assessment of Fraternities and Sororities (2019) features continuing conversations about the challenges facing fraternities and sororities on campuses across the country. Faculty, administrators, and alumni/ae will find inspiration as higher education scholars and practitioners that examine the past and future constructs of fraternity and sorority institutions. The volume opens with a historical section on the origins of fraternities and sororities, then moves to examine values, legal issues, and research before concluding with an overview of fraternity/sorority scholarship that includes profiles of large, national benchmark surveys.

“As higher education professionals seek to build leaders and programs that align with institutional values, this text provides thoughtful study and practical assessment of the fraternity and sorority experience.”

-Kathryn Cavins-Tull, Texas Christian University Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

Book cover for "Supporting Fraternities and Sororities in the Contemporary Era"Biddix’s second volume, Supporting Fraternities and Sororities in the Contemporary Era (2019), follows conversations and scholarship suggesting that not just change is necessary, but that there ought to be a fundamental reconceptualization of the fraternity and sorority construct.

“The authors’ focus on collaboration between campus based and Headquarters based fraternity and sorority professionals adds an important new perspective to the administration of fraternity and sorority affairs.”

Charles G. Eberly, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Counseling and Higher Education, Eastern Illinois University

Including summaries of national organizations from authentic, represented voices, chapters in Supporting Fraternities and Sororities in the Contemporary Era focus on solutions to support the fraternity and sorority experience and provide strategies and emerging explanations for the issues described in this text.

Both titles are available online via Myers Education Press.

ELPS News

Frank Cuevas Named Permanent Vice Chancellor for Student Life

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Frank Cuevas, who has been serving as the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Life since January, will take on the role permanently.

“Over the last several months, some of which have been the most challenging we’ve faced as an institution, I have watched Frank’s steady leadership, his steadfast advocacy for our students, and the trust and respect he has built with the Student Life staff,” said Chancellor Donde Plowman. “Frank is collaborative, compassionate, and thoughtful in his decision-making, and he has already proven himself to be a tremendous addition to our senior leadership team. I’m absolutely thrilled he has agreed to take on the role permanently.”

Frank Cuevas
Vice Chancellor for Student Life Frank Cuevas

Cuevas previously served as Assistant and then Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Life. He also oversaw Student Housing at UT for seven years, beginning in 2010. He has been an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at UT for seven years.

“I am deeply honored to serve UT as the Vice Chancellor for Student Life. I am passionate about both education and the student experience, so I am very excited to get to work on behalf of our students. I wish to thank Chancellor Plowman for entrusting me with this responsibility. I look forward to continuing to work with her, our campus leadership, and the student life team to support student learning as we work to advance the university’s mission.”

Cuevas was the only finalist out of a nationwide pool of candidates.

Before coming to UT, Cuevas served in various roles in student housing at Florida State University for nearly 20 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international affairs, a master’s in student affairs, and a doctor of education in higher education administration, all from Florida State.

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CONTACT

Tyra Haag (865-974-5460, tyra.haag@tennessee.edu)

Trends in Community College Course Material Costs and Their Impact on Student Success

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Community college students throughout Tennessee are taking fewer classes, avoiding certain majors, and not purchasing required materials due to their cost, according to the 2019 Tennessee Community College Student Course Materials Survey Report released by The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Postsecondary Education Research Center (PERC). This survey, the first to specifically survey Tennessee community college students’ experiences, illustrates the impact that high course material costs have on students’ academic decisions and ability to progress toward graduation.

“The state of Tennessee is a national frontrunner in resolving barriers related to the cost of tuition, but the issues students experience due to the oftentimes high cost of course materials indicate that simply enrolling students is not enough,” said Elizabeth Spica, Principal Researcher working in partnership with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Postsecondary Education Research Center. “We not only want students to enroll, but also to succeed and earn the degrees and credentials that will help them be more successful in life. The negative points of impact evident in this research report indicate we have more work to do.”

The report results could help inform educational leaders and policymakers further develop recommendations and initiatives for increasing the affordability of required course materials and, as a result, the overall affordability of college. According to the report students spent an average of $119.18 per course on required materials in the Fall 2019 semester, and while they relied most heavily on campus bookstores, they also frequently turned to online services like Amazon and Chegg to purchase and rent materials.

“It is our hope that this report will help illuminate the struggles that students face related to the unanticipated costs incurred after enrolling in a postsecondary program,” said Spica. “Course material costs represent a great proportion of the investment beyond tuition, and by addressing this challenge, Tennessee will pave the way for students to more easily realize the opportunities that come with successful completion of a higher education degree.”

In a partnership with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Postsecondary Education Research Center, the Tennessee Board of Regents Office of Policy and Strategy, and Offices of Institutional Research at 12 participating community college campuses, the 2019 Tennessee Community College Student Course Materials Survey was completed by almost 2,000 students across the state, half of which intended to transfer to a four-year institution upon completion of their current program. The survey asked students about their spending, purchase behaviors, and points of impact for course material costs on academic decisions and their ability to progress to graduation. The survey also addressed the extent to which required materials were being used in the classroom.

Download the Press Release by clicking here, and for additional information and to view a full copy of the report, visit perc.utk.edu/reports/.

 

About PERC: The mission of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Postsecondary Education Research Center (PERC) is to identify, conduct, and coordinate research on initiatives and ideas designed to enhance higher education at the institutional, state, and national levels to enhance policy and practice.