Cutting Edge Higher Education
Ty McNamee
BY LESLIE JOBLIN
McNamee studies interventions for rural student success in higher education McNamee secures two grants for projects
T
y McNamee, assistant professor of higher education, has obtained two grants that will enable him to study the supports and policies that can help rural students succeed in higher education. One grant, supported by the Educational Credit Management Corp., facilitates a two-year study of rural, poor and working-class student experiences in three Wyoming community colleges. For the project, McNamee is joined by three colleagues from University of Wisconsin-Madison, Clemson University and Bridgerland Technical College. The other grant is a Sarah Isom Fellowship supporting a two-year study of queer and rural students at a large university in the South. “Institutions have focused a lot on access for rural students, but we don’t know as much about their success on
campus once they get there,” McNamee said. “What makes them feel engaged and supported? What compels them to drop out?” Rural students face unique difficulties completing degrees. According to the National Student Clearinghouse, only 56% of students from rural schools in the U.S. enroll in college; of those who enroll, only 41% graduate with a postsecondary degree within six years. Rural students may struggle navigating a large, bureaucratic institution after coming from a small town where they knew everybody, McNamee said. “They may not be as likely to take advantage of opportunities like office hours if their parents did not go to college and can’t relay expectations. Even the language used on campuses can by mystifying.”
The retention of postsecondary students grows more important, even as cultural debates cast doubt on the value of college. According to a report from Georgetown University, by 2032, 72% of jobs in the U.S. will require postsecondary education and/or training. With $9,000 in support from the UM Isom Fellowship, McNamee is piloting a study of the higher education experiences of queer, rural students attending a large, Southern university. “Higher education settings have grown increasingly accepting of LGBTQ+ students, which is great, but, ironically, those same students can find their campuses less inclusive towards those with rural backgrounds,” McNamee said. “When home, these students might be judged for their sexuality and/ or gender identity, then on campus, they may encounter stereotypes and limiting beliefs about people from their hometowns.” A sense of belonging is critical for student success, McNamee said. “How do we create spaces on campus where being from a small town is valued, where we aren’t stereotyping those students and where we are acknowledging that we have things to learn from them too?”
The 60th anniversary of integration at the University of Mississippi included a wealth of events inspiring the UM community to reflect on the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and show appreciation for James Meredith, whose admission to UM in 1962 integrated the university. Amy Wells Dolan, associate dean and professor of higher education, and Phillis George, department chair and associate professor of higher education, served on the planning committee for the 60th anniversary of UM’s integration. Events included concerts, lectures, field trips and a transcribea-thon, in which participants helped to make the UM library’s archive of 22 n 2023 Education Edge n School of Education
Photo by Leslie Joblin
Celebrating 60 years of integration
Higher education faculty and university leaders attend lecture by Joy Williamson Lott (center).
letters to James Meredith more widely available to scholars around the world. The two also helped to plan the speaker series that brought Joy WilliamsonLott, dean of the graduate school and professor at University of Washington,
to UM to discuss how faculty and student activists challenged Southern white institutions during the Black freedom struggle and how historical research can be instructive to today’s campus activists.