Stephanie Bannister is the president of FirstGen Forward. With over two decades of experience in higher education, she has dedicated her career to advancing student success, community building, and leadership development. Stephanie previously served as the assistant vice provost for student success at Kansas State University (K-State), where she began working in 2001 within the division of student life and housing and dining services.

Before her time at K-State, Stephanie was the associate director for student living at the University of Kansas, directed two residence halls, and traveled nationwide as a consultant for Alpha Gamma Delta International Fraternity. A sought-after consultant, Stephanie has worked with higher education institutions and non-profit organizations on strategic planning, reaccreditation, and philanthropic support. She also serves as an external reviewer of programs.

Stephanie holds a B.A. from Fort Hays State University, an M.S. from the University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. in education from K-State. She is a graduate teaching faculty member in the College of Education at K-State and is an active member of the Manhattan, Kansas, community.

A passionate advocate and ally for first-generation students, Stephanie resides in Kansas with her husband, the Honorable Grant D. Bannister, chief judge for Kansas' 21st Judicial District. Together, they are proud parents of Sydney and her partner, Jake; William and Grace; and grandson Lawrence Miles

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Alexander Bolton is a devoted child of God, a junior student-athlete at Brevard College in North Carolina, and a faith-filled YouTuber.

Alexander has maintained extraordinary grades at Brevard and has made the Dean’s List every year, including this past semester. At Brevard, he is a member of The Hidden Opponent, a leader of Brevard College Worship Nights, Brevard College admissions content work study, and a peer leader. He has also been a writer for the college newspaper.

He has been a page at the S.C. State House for state Sen. Overture Walker, whose successful campaign he worked on in the summer of 2024. Alexander has interned with Banco Bannister Co., a Columbia marketing and public relations firm, for two consecutive summers.

He highlights his walk as a college student, follower of Christ and student of the Word as he explores the gospel on his YouTube channel, “NoLimitAb.”

His favorite scripture is John 14:6: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

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Dr. Kevin P. Reilly is president emeritus and regent professor with the 26-campus University of Wisconsin System, having served as president from 2004-13. He came to Wisconsin from the State University of New York System, where he was associate provost for academic programs and then secretary of the university. As secretary, he was the chief staff officer for the SUNY Board of Trustees.

Currently he has an appointment as Senior Fellow with the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, working with boards around the country on effective governance. While still president at Wisconsin, he served as president of the National Association of System Heads and a board member at the American Council on Education.

Kevin has authored and edited books and articles on higher education governance and policy, accreditation, biography and autobiography, and Irish literature and culture. For years he wrote a regular column, “Focus on the Presidency,” for AGB’s Trusteeship magazine. Recent articles in Trusteeship include “Too Big to Fail,” on public university systems, and “A Winter of Discontent: Tax Policy, Trust, and the Future of Higher Education.”

Dr. Reilly earned his B.A. at the University of Notre Dame, and his M.A. and Ph.D at the University of Minnesota. He is a board member for the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, the Irish American Cultural Institute, and the Association of College and University Educators.

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Dr. Kelly Schrum is the Assistant Provost for Graduate Academic Affairs at George Mason University. In this role, she provides leadership for graduate education, working closely with faculty and staff across all colleges to strengthen graduate programs and support student success. Dr. Schrum is a historian and a professor in the Higher Education Program in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. She has been a faculty member at George Mason University since 2000 and is the recipient of several awards, including the David J. King Teaching Award and the Teaching Excellence Award. Her teaching and research focus on digital pedagogy, the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), and graduate education.

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Denise Bartell is Associate Provost for Academic Affairs at Kent State University, where she facilitates strategic initiatives related to access, retention, completion, and student success with a focus on improving equity of outcomes for historically underserved students and empowering faculty as key stakeholders in this work. Her scholarship takes a systemic and explicitly relational approach, most recently exploring a reconceptualization of faculty development to utilize principles of high impact learning experiences and authentic engagement to create communities of transformation where members are empowered to transform public higher education as a tool for building a more just and equitable society. Denise earned a B.S. in Human Development & Family Studies from Cornell University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Human Development & Family Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin.

Jerry Daday is a Professor of Sociology at Indiana University Indianapolis where he teaches courses focused on crime and victimization and research methodology. His primary research focuses on the etiology of violent offending and victimization and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, with a specific emphasis on high-impact practices (HIPs) and experiential learning. He served for seven years as the Executive Associate Dean for the Institute for Engaged Learning at IU Indianapolis, where he collaborated with colleagues to promote high-quality experiential learning opportunities for students. He is the co-editor of the book, Delivering on the Promise of High Impact Practices: Research and Models for Achieving Equity, Fidelity, Impact and Scale, published by Routledge (2022). He lends his expertise to the Center for Leading Improvements in Higher Education, which includes the HIPs in the States track at the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis and Assessment Update. He received his BA in Sociology from Bridgewater State University and his MA and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of New Mexico. Before joining IU Indianapolis in 2018, he was a Professor of Sociology and served as the Executive Director of the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning at Western Kentucky University.

Resources from the episode:

The Student Experience Project (SEP) website

The SEP final report

The PERTS Ascend survey

Information on the Kent State faculty communities of transformation

Information on the Student Experience Champions

Information on Ascend Champions

Information on the USU/APLU SEP Institutes

Contact information:

Denise Bartell - dbartell@kent.edu

Jerry Daday - jdaday@iu.edu

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Annie Goodykoontz is a Phoenix-born student journalist based in Columbia, Missouri. Previously, she has interned at The Los Angeles Times, The Arizona Republic and Brussels-based news site Euractiv. Annie is a junior at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where she spent her sophomore year as editor-in-chief of the student paper, The Maneater. She’s currently a Youth / K-12 Education Reporter at the Columbia Missourian, and a Student Innovation Staffer at the Reynolds Journalism Institute.

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Ashley Mowreader is a data journalist and education reporter. She is currently a master of journalism student at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and fellow for the Education Writers Association 21st class. Previously, Ashley was Inside Higher Ed's inaugural Student Success Reporter and host of the Voices of Student Success podcast. She holds a bachelor's in journalism from Pepperdine University.

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Dr. Scott Evenbeck is a retired president of the Charles and Stella Guttman Community College and currently serves as a University Professor at Baruch College.

Scott Evenbeck joined the City University of New York in 2011 as the Charles and Stella Guttman Community College’s founding president. He served as professor of psychology and founding dean of University College at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis. Scott has long been involved in designing, implementing and assessing programs for students in their first years of university study. He played a major role in various initiatives to support student achievement in Indiana, including efforts to keep students in college. He has given more than 100 presentations on serving students as they enter college, and he has written many articles and chapters on academic achievement and persistence. Scott was a task force adviser for the Foundations of Excellence in the First College Year, a board member of the American Conference of Academic Deans, and a faculty member for the Learning Community Institute of the Washington Center for Undergraduate Education. The National Learning Community conference recognized him with the lifetime achievement award. He has been on accreditation teams for three regional associations, focusing on general education, assessment and programs for entering students.

Ryan Coughlan is Associate Professor and Founding Faculty Director of the Executive Doctor of Education in Higher Education Administration Program in the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College of the City University of New York. He is a sociologist of education who studies equity and access in public education systems serving students of all ages.

Dr. Coughlan began his career as a secondary science educator in the New York City department of education, where he gained direct insight into the structures and challenges of our nation’s largest school district. As a scholar, Dr. Coughlan maintains a commitment to practitioner-oriented research that maximizes impact in academia and educational institutions. Along with his related publications in academic journals, he has published five books on school integration, the history of progressive education, the social foundations of education, and the sociology of education. His most recent co-authored book is an in-depth mixed methods case study of one school district’s efforts to achieve true integration. Dr. Coughlan’s research has been featured in national media outlets including The New York Times, NPR, and Chalkbeat, and it serves as the foundation for multiple school equity lawsuits.

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