Foundation for Student Success

Webinar 1

Foundation for Student Success (FSS) Webinar 1

Webinar Series Title:
Engaging in Tough Conversations Toward Equitable Student Success

First Webinar Title:
Click here to watch Shifting Student Demographics Matter — How to Start the Campus-Wide Conversation

Description:
For the last year, Foundation for Student Success (FSS) mentor and mentee institutions have worked together to start campus culture changes that result in more equitable student success. Panelists will share their institutions’ journeys toward an understanding of the shifting student demographics on their own campuses and the steps they took toward inclusive student success.

Watch:

Live Session originally recorded on Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Length:
90 minutes with time for questions and comments from the audience.

Intended Audience:
This webinar series is open to all who are interested in promoting access and success for all students. Leadership, faculty, and student services staff from both two-year and four-year institutions may be particularly interested in attending.

Panelists:

Community College of Aurora

 
Quill Phillips

Quill Phillips, Special Assistant to the President for Inclusive Excellence
at Community College of Aurora
Quill Phillips joined CCA in September 2015 to support the college’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. She chairs the Inclusive Excellence Council, which was revamped to work with college leaders to create an equitable and inclusive environment for students, faculty, and staff. More…
 
 
 
 
 

San Jacinto College

 
Van Wigginton

Van Wigginton, Provost
Mr. Van A. Wigginton is one of three San Jacinto College campus provosts. Mr. Wigginton began his career at San Jacinto College as a government professor in 1995. Since that time, he has served as the department chair for the department of social sciences and dean of liberal arts and sciences. More…
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Shelley Rinehart
Shelley Rinehart, Dean of Student Development, Central Campus

Shelley Rinehart serves as the Dean of Student Development at San Jacinto College Central Campus. She is responsible for Career Services, Educational Planning, Counseling, and Completion, Student Engagement and Activities, and Veteran Services (college-wide). More…
 
 
 

Southern Connecticut State University

 
Terricita Sass
Terricita E. Sass, Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management
Dr. Sass is a professional administrator with nearly 30 years of service to public higher education. Appointed in July of 2015 as the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management at Southern, she is responsible for the Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions, Financial Aid, Registrar, and Academic & Career Advising. More…
 
 
 
 

University of South Florida

 
Paul Dosal
Paul Dosal, Vice President for Student Affairs and Student Success
Paul Dosal is the Vice President for Student Affairs and Student Success at the University of South Florida. In that position, he is responsible for directing the university-wide student success initiative, a strategic campaign to raise retention and graduation rates, boost student satisfaction, minimize financial indebtedness, and prepare all students for success in their careers or graduate and professional schools. More…
 
 


Quill Phillips, Special Assistant to the President for Inclusive Excellence at Community College of Aurora

continued...

 

Quill is also responsible for implementing and overseeing CCA’s Inclusive Excellence initiative. This initiative includes educational awareness of implementing inclusive curriculum development and pedagogy, and assessing campus climate, policies, and services to address closing the equity gap between students of color and white students. Through training, best practices, and feedback loops, Quill is leading the institutionalization of Inclusive Excellence. In the last two and a half years she has created and implemented a 20 hour campus-wide training program, created Inclusive Excellence employee recognition awards, revamped the current employee awards to be more equitable and include values of IE, created and implemented a college-wide IE strategic plan to operationalize all of the efforts at a programmatic and institutional level, and assisted with revamping hiring practices to increase the diversity of CCA employees.

Her awards include being competitively selected as a Chief Diversity Officer Fellow with the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the Spirit of King award by CCA in January 2018, and a Distinguished Woman of Aurora Award by the City of Aurora in March 2017.

Prior to joining CCA, Phillips worked in career services at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) where she was responsible for the career development of students and focused specifically on working with students from marginalized populations, helping them to navigate the job search process. In addition to her role at UNC, she also served as a Social Justice Educator and trained staff and students on how to incorporate social justice competencies into their everyday lives that would impact their experiences and the experiences of others on the campus.

She earned a Bachelor's of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from Colorado State University and her Master of Arts degree from Michigan State University.

 


Van Wigginton, Provost

continued...

 

Mr. Wigginton has worked closely with local independent school districts (ISDs) in developing and expanding the College’s dual credit offerings. He also coordinated the GEAR Up Program with Pasadena ISD and is active in supporting numerous ISD partnership programs. He has also taught as a lecturer in political science at the University of Houston-University Park. Mr. Wigginton served on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Undergraduate Education Advisory Committee that serves as a forum for problem solving and the generation of good ideas to improve undergraduate education. Mr. Wigginton currently serves on the Texas Chiropractic College Board of Regents.

He has also served on the San Jacinto YMCA Board of Directors. He is a graduate of Leadership Deer Park sponsored by the Deer Park Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Wigginton has also served as Chairman of the La Porte Bayshore Chamber of Commerce for 2017 and President of the Rotary Club of La Porte.

Mr. Wigginton holds a doctorate in jurisprudence from the University of Houston. He has also pursued graduate studies in political science at the University of Houston, and earned a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in government, both from Lamar University.

 


Shelley Rinehart, Dean of Student Development, Central Campus

continued...

 

She also serves as the Degree Works functional lead for the college. She has been with the college for almost 16 years and has served in various roles. Shelley has a Master of Arts in Behavioral Science with a concentration in Industrial / Organizational Psychology and a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Houston – Clear Lake. She also has an Associates of Arts in Social Science from San Jacinto College.

 


Terricita E. Sass, Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management

continued...

 

Prior to arriving at Southern, she served 10 years as the chief enrollment management official at Norfolk State University in Virginia. She brings experience in attracting and retaining students from many backgrounds including traditional, honors, first generation, minority, low-income, adult, transfer and military students within an urban environment.

She received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Francis Marion University, a Master of Arts in Urban Affairs from Norfolk State University and a Ph.D. in Leadership for Higher Education from Capella University. She has also received a post-master’s certificate in Enrollment Management.

Dr. Sass is a self-proclaimed coach, an advocate of self-improvement, an avid user of data and technology, and subscribes to a strong work ethic. She is married to retired Navy Commander Grady Sass and has two adult children who recently graduated from college.

 


Paul Dosal, Vice President for Student Affairs and Student Success

continued...

 

Under his leadership, the university has made remarkable gains in undergraduate student success, raising the six-year graduation rate from 51% to 68% while also eliminating the achievement gap by race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status. As the leader of a newly consolidated unit, he is forging a team that touches on all aspects of the student experience, including Enrollment Planning and Management, Undergraduate Studies, Dean of Students, Housing and Residential Education, Health and Wellness, and Career Services.

Dr. Dosal is also a Professor of Latin American History at the University of South Florida, specializing in the modern history of Cuba and the Caribbean region. He is the author of four books, including Comandante Che, a study of the military career of the legendary Latin American revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara, and Doing Business with the Dictators, a history of the infamous United Fruit Company in Guatemala in the early 20th century.

Born and raised in Tampa, he is a fourth-generation descendant of Cuban immigrants who settled in Ybor City in 1889. He earned his B.A. in International Politics at St. Andrews College in Laurinburg, North Carolina. He received his M.A. in Latin American Studies and Ph.D. in History at Tulane University in New Orleans. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of South Florida, he taught for nine years at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.