Program Faculty
The program faculty brings diverse expertise to student advising, curriculum design, and its delivery. The expertise of the faculty includes leadership, governance, student services, vocational education, community college issues, and issues related to individuals with disabilities. The faculty collaborate in program planning, and are actively involved in ongoing projects, research, writing, publications, grants and local and national and international education efforts.
Marilee J. Bresciani, Ph.D.
Professor
Marilee J. Bresciani, Ph.D. is Professor of Postsecondary Education Leadership at San Diego State University, where she coordinates the masters in Student Affairs/Services in community colleges and higher education, the certificate in institutional research, planning, and assessment, and the masters and doctorate in community college leadership. The curriculum at San Diego State University emphasizes student learning centeredness, integration of the curricular and co-curricular learning paradigms, and analysis, planning, and responsible practice of leaders in a socially just and global environment.
Dr. Bresciani’s research focuses on the evaluation of student learning and development. She uses grounded theory to explore how systems and processes contribute to student learning centeredness, which includes the study of leaders’ roles in these systems and processes.
Dr. Bresciani has held faculty and higher education administration positions for over 20 years. In those positions, she has conducted enrollment management research, quantitative and qualitative institutional research, course-embedded assessment, and academic and administrative program assessment. Previously as Assistant Vice President for Institutional Assessment at Texas A&M University and as Director of Assessment at North Carolina State University, Dr. Bresciani led university-wide initiatives to embed faculty-driven outcomes-based assessment in the curriculum. She has led reforms in outcomes-based assessment program review, assessment of general education, quality enhancement, and assessment of the co-curricular.
Dr. Bresciani has been invited to present and publish her findings on assessment and is a leading author of five books on assessing student learning and outcomes-based assessment program review. Dr. Bresciani has developed and delivered several courses on assessment of student learning, and serves on the editorial board of the NASPA Journal. She is a reviewer for the Australian Quality Assurance Agency and is also a managing partner in an international assessment and enrollment management consulting firm.
Dr. Bresciani holds a Ph.D. in Administration, Curriculum, and Instruction from the University of Nebraska and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Hastings College.
Dr. Marilee Bresciani can be reached at mbrescia@mail.sdsu.edu
Frank Harris III, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor
Dr. Harris is an Assistant Professor of Postsecondary Educational Leadership and Student Affairs at San Diego State University. He is actively engaged in research that considers issues concerning college men and masculinities, gendered trends in postsecondary learning environments, and student development in higher education.
His dissertation study, The Meanings College Men Make of Masculinities and Contextual Influences on Behaviors, Outcomes and Gendered Environmental Norms: A Grounded Theory Study, was recognized for excellence by the Association for Student Judicial Affairs (Dissertation of the Year), the American Educational Research Association (Division J Dissertation of the Year), and the American College Personnel Association’s Standing Committee for Men (Outstanding Research Award).
Since 2004, Dr. Harris has presented more than 30 research papers, symposia, and workshops at regional and national conferences for postsecondary educators. He participates actively in the American College Personnel Association (ACPA), the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA).
Dr. Harris’ professional experiences encompass the following administrative areas and responsibilities: sponsored projects administration, student affairs administration, student crisis support and advocacy, new student orientation programs, multicultural student affairs, academic advising, and enrollment services. Prior to joining the faculty at San Diego State University in 2007, Dr. Harris served as Associate Director of the University of Southern California’s Center for Urban Education where he is currently appointed as a research associate.
Dr. Harris completed a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies at Loyola Marymount University and a Master of Arts in Speech Communication at California State University, Northridge. His Ed.D. in Higher Education is from the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education.
Dr. Frank Harris III can be reached at frank.harris@sdsu.edu.
Assistant Professor
Shaila Mulholland is Assistant Professor of Postsecondary Education in the Department of Administration, Rehabilitation, and Postsecondary Education. Her teaching and research interests focus on the study of community colleges; the experiences of students as they navigate postsecondary institutions; and research methods—in particular, case study research, historical methods, and policy analysis focusing on state educational systems. Her dissertation study titled, The Lessons from Fifty Years of Access and Equity Strategies in Indiana, explored from a historical perspective the state's unique development of community colleges. This study, funded in part by the ASHE-Lumina Foundation Fellowship, revealed the debates among federal, state, and institutional policy actors pertaining to access and equity in postsecondary education.
Prior to coming to San Diego State University, Dr. Mulholland was a research assistant for the Alliance for International Higher Education Policy Studies at New York University’s Steinhardt Institute for Higher Education Policy and a project associate at the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University Bloomington. Working with the Center’s National Survey of Student Engagement, she was a team member of the Documenting Effective Educational Practice (DEEP) Project. Most recently, Dr. Mulholland served as a consultant for the California Community College Collaborative (C4) based at the University of California Riverside.
Dr. Mulholland is an active member of the following professional organizations: the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), the American Education Research Association (AERA), Council for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC), and the Organization of Educational Historians (OEH). She holds a PhD in Higher Education Administration from New York University, a Masters in Higher Education and Bachelors in biology from Indiana University Bloomington.
Dr. Mulholland can be reached at smulholland@mail.sdsu.edu.
Ron Jacobs , Ph.D.
Professor
Ron Jacobs, Ph.D. joined the SDSU faculty in 1982 after previous faculty appointments at C.S.U. Northridge and Western Oregon University. He teaches courses in the areas quantitative methods as well as research and program evaluation design. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he has served as the Director of the "Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing" specialization in the Rehabilitation counseling Program since 1984. Dr. Jacobs has served as a research and program evaluation consultant to rehabilitation agencies, employment preparation programs and post-secondary institutions since 1974. The primary focus of his research and program evaluation activity is individuals with disabilities who are pursuing post-secondary, life-long learning opportunities for enhanced employment and independent living.
Dr. Jacobs can be reached at rjacobs@mail.sdsu.edu.
Adjunct Faculty
Sandra Cook
Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs
Enrollment Services
San Diego State University
In her position at San Diego State University, Dr. Cook oversees the operation of the many facets of Enrollment Services including admission, registration, student records, academic advising, the student information system, the class schedule, the General Catalog, and the curriculum process. She received her B.S. in psychology, M.A. in urban studies, and Ph.D. in higher education from Loyola University Chicago. Her areas of academic interest and research are academic advising and the history of higher education and student affairs. She has held leadership positions in the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). Prior to San Diego State University, Dr. Cook served as Associate Dean of Mundelein College at Loyola University Chicago.
Dr. Cook can be reached at scook@mail.sdsu.edu or 619-594-5384.
James R. Kitchen
Vice President for Student Affairs
San Diego State University
He provides leadership for the 17 departments within the Division as well as the Assistant Deans for Student Affairs in each of the university's colleges, and for the Associated Students.
Dr. Kitchen received his B.S. in Physical Education and his M.S. in Education from Eastern Illinois University. He received his doctorate in Higher Education Administration at Northern Arizona University and went on to hold leadership positions at UNLV and the University of Kansas before coming to San Diego State University.
Dr. Kitchen may be reached at 619-594-5211.
Penny Rue
Vice Chancellor-Student Affairs
University of California
Penny Rue serves as Vice Chancellor-Student Affairs at the University of California, San Diego, with broad responsibility for the safety and well being of students and their education outside the classroom. She served most recently for eight years as Dean of Students at the University of Virginia. Rue has taught College Student Development in the Center for the Study of Higher Education at UVa’s Curry School of Education. She served for five years as Senior Associate Dean of Students at Georgetown University and for seven years as Georgetown's Director of Student Programs. Her doctorate is in Counseling and Personnel Services from the University of Maryland, where her dissertation research focused on a conceptual study of community on the college campus. She has a Master’s degree in Student Personnel Services from The Ohio State University and an A.B. magna cum laude in English and Religion from Duke University. Earlier in her career she held posts at The University of Maryland and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Sara Henry
Director, UCSD Express to Success Program
Univeristy of California San Diego
Sara Henry is originally from Scottsdale, AZ and moved to San Diego after completing her Bachelor of Arts in Communication at Arizona State University (ASU). While enrolled at ASU, she participated in a four-year leadership development program and found her passion for working with college students on leadership and communication skill development. In May 2005, Sara completed her Master of Arts in Postsecondary Educational Leadership/Student Affairs at San Diego State University. Sara currently serves as Director of the UCSD Express to Success Programs at the University of California San Diego, a co-curricular program that assists students in developing confidence in interpersonal communication, social interaction, public speaking and leadership skills.
Sara is actively involved in the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), and has served on a number of planning committees and in various leadership roles. Sara is committed to furthering the field of student affairs administration by mentoring undergraduate students involved in co-curricular programs. Additionally, she would like to increase access to university education by establishing scholarships for students who have exhibited exemplary leadership practices in high school.
Her research interests include the impact of college students' technology use on psychosocial well-being and mental health, interpersonal communication and social self-efficacy, and social integration and campus community.
Sara can be reached at shenrysaraceno-10@sandiego.edu.