This dissertation seeks to introduce financial modernization as a distinct subcategory of modernization and present practical applications for sport managers. Modernization literature has shown that, as society advances, levels of complexity increase. Modernization is generally concerned about the impact of technology, transportation, financial…

The goal of the research was to learn about the opinions of Texas college students on the death penalty and to determine the impact that prior interaction with the criminal justice system through incarceration or employment had on their opinions. A sequential, explanatory mixed methodology was implemented during the data collection, analysis, and…

Histories of the American community college have largely overlooked the humanistic education movement of the mid-20th century. This historiographical gap obscures leaders' ideological commitment to their institution's diverse mission during an era of rapid community college expansion. Advocates and critics of community colleges have consequently…

This dissertation delves into the profound impact of the Second Great Awakening on American higher education and its enduring social consequences. Examining the period from the late eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century, the research uncovers the core belief that drove the Awakening--that America and its citizens were chosen for a…

This ethnographic dissertation research project focuses on a digital storytelling workshop called Food/Stories which took place in collaboration with Black Yield Institute in Spring of 2023. The Food/Stories workshop is the case study that I used to explore the effectiveness of Collaborative Visual Storytelling, a methodological approach that…

University students are increasingly coming together to take action for racial justice and equity. Anti-racist student organizing includes how students collectively work to address racism and oppression at their institutions or beyond through sociopolitical engagement and action (e.g., protests, political education). Minority-serving institutions…

Expressions of criticism have plagued historically black college and university (HBCU) presidents' leadership practices since the 1970s. Unstable leadership at these institutions could threaten their existence. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory single case study was to explore how HBCU presidents develop new facets of their leadership…

The central challenge of social impact education within higher education is the lack of a shared framework to unify language and practice across an institution. One framework gaining popularity among Community Engagement Professionals (CEPs) is the Pathways of Public Service and Civic Engagement. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to…

This dissertation project interrogates the efficacy of restorative justice practices in repairing interconnections, human dignity, and social responsibility. More specifically, I analyze how these practices enable the creation of more relational spaces/relational ecologies in higher education in the United States. Using a collaborative…

For several generations, the educational achievement gap of African Americans has continued to widen in the United States. The current study examined how racial identity influences the relationship between academic motivation and academic stress among African American college students. Participants for the study included 438 African American…

Nationally, reverse credit transfer is a practice of transfer credit. The reverse transfer program at the study site was implemented in 2013, but no information had been analyzed about the experiences of participating students. This study explored students' experiences of the reverse transfer program at the study site. The theory of student…

The position of Dean of Women was created in response to novel exigencies rising from women's acceptance to coeducational institutions of higher learning in the late nineteenth century. While these early women administrators had a profound impact on women's higher education in the United States, their work has received relatively little attention.…

In the vacuity created by the global pandemic, George Floyd's broadcasted murder regenerated the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and compelled a national conversation about racial injustice (Associated Press, 2020; Cullors et al., 2013). Institutions of higher education (IHE) immediately responded with anti-racist efforts spanning from action…

Today's elementary teacher candidates (TCs) are entering a world of public education decimated by decades of neoliberal education reforms (Kumashiro, 2010; Lipman, 2012) exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (Giroux, 2021) and the current white-supremacist, heteropatriarchal backlash (Pendharkar, 2022). For justice-oriented TCs, finding agency in…

Over the last 10 years, institutes of higher learning (IHLs) in the southeastern United States have endured natural disasters that have caused flooding, water, and wind damage and resulted in student evacuations, class disruptions, and building damage. IHLs are further challenged with resuming campus operations despite the emotional impact…