Digital Commons Network^™

Clark Magazine, Spring/Summer 2025, Clark University

Clark Magazine

The Spring/Summer 2025 edition of Clark Magazine. Clark Magazine is a twice-yearly publication primarily geared towards Clark University Alumni.

The cover story is 'A Face Only a Biologist Could Love: The lowly dung beetle and other humble creatures may not be pretty, but to Clark researchers working at the forefront of cancer, climate change, and medicine, they are stars.'

Curriculum Internationalization: Aligned With Equity And Social Justice? Considerations And Perceptions From International Graduate Students In Canada, Siyin Liang

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Institutionalizing Normality: Disability, Productivity, And Higher Education, Ashley Dirzis

Student Theses

This thesis examines how capitalism and neuronormative domination shape the structures and values of academic institutions, affecting faculty, students, and research subjects alike. By privileging productivity, conformity, and efficiency in the pursuit of income, universities often marginalize those who diverge from normative standards of thinking, behavior, and embodiment, particularly disabled individuals. Drawing on Marta Russell’s Disability and Capitalism and the shaping of disability by capitalist systems, Robert Chapman’s notion of the "Empire of Normality" and Jay Dolmage’s concept of the retrofit from Academic Ableism, this paper analyzes how academia reinforces ableist norms. It explores the realities and barriers that …

Deadtime In The Vale Of Soul-Making: Hermeneutics, Humanization, And Higher Education In Prison, Dale Michael Brown

Dissertations

This body of work examines higher education with and for justice-involved people from a descriptive, theoretical, and empirical perspective—pulling together multiple disciplines and employing different methodologies from the humanities and social sciences. The investigation is written from a philosophical perspective via educational foundations and a social science perspective via qualitative research, including an examination of carceral higher education’s connections to teaching and experiential learning. This approach reflects the interdisciplinary nature of both the author’s degree program and the topic itself, which (as a field of academic inquiry) is part theoretical and part empirical (both qualitative and quantitative). The papers in …

Navigating Generative Ai In Honors, Anne Dotter, Victoria M. Bryan

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Considering the historical significance and pedagogical impact of educational technologies on teaching and learning in higher education, authors suggest that generative artificial intelligence creates more questions than solutions for honors practitioners. What might meaningful AI literacy look like throughout a multidisciplinary honors curriculum? To what extent will generative AI level educational inequities, or create new ones? If policing AI misuse is ultimately a losing battle, how might this understanding reshape assignment design, assessment practices, and even our definitions of academic dishonesty? Drawing on examples in current teaching practice, authors observe the two sides of generative AI—one holding powerful possibilities for …

Ai Responsibilization: Shifting The Burden Of Academic Integrity, Daniel A. Cryer

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Because AI text generators like ChatGPT give students unprece-dented power to outsource their work, concerns about academic integrity are escalating among instructors. This essay suggests that the proliferation of generative artificial intelligence in teaching and learning dramatically shifts the burden of academic integrity, typically shared between teachers and students, onto students. The concept of responsibilization, a defining feature of neoliberal societies in which individuals become responsible for costs and tasks once shouldered collectively, is a useful lens through which to view this new reality. Rather than policing students’ work, educators should recognize the new responsibilities conferred onto students by learning …

Teaching Ai Literacy Through Science Studies, Rhetoric, And Ethical Reasoning, Michael J. Klein, Philip L. Frana

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Building on the idea of productive troublemaking, this essay presents a team-taught interdisciplinary honors course that integrates science and technology studies, rhetorical analysis, ethical reasoning, and artificial intelligence policy. Rather than framing AI as a threat, this course invites honors students to experiment with AI technologies and develop competencies by analyzing AI as a social and subjectivity-shaping phenomenon—writing policy briefs, producing rhetorical analyses of science fiction, and completing self-paced AI literacy modules. Honors education is uniquely positioned to model responsible and human-centered uses of intelligent systems, thereby cultivating graduates who can both use and critically interrogate the AI tools that …

Another “Tone Test” Moment: Authenticity, Ai, And The Admission Essay, Peter Tschirhart

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Debates about “authenticity” are not new but cyclical, and insights from music history and performance studies can illuminate how we evaluate student work in an age of machine collaboration. At the turn of the twentieth century, Edison’s “tone tests” blurred the line between human and machine by staging performances in which audiences were challenged to distinguish live singers from phonographic recordings. These events inaugurated a century-long debate about authenticity in music, one that resonates strongly today as educators confront new challenges posed by large language models (LLMs). Drawing on Auslander’s (2023) account of liveness, authenticity in writing—like authenticity in music—can …

Honoring Intellectual Risk-Taking: A Dialogue, Julie Bowman, Alexis Teagarden

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Presented in the form of a Socratic dialogue, this piece considers what honors courses should strive to teach. Bowman, an experienced instructor of both non-honors and honors classes, notes that while universities’ honors colleges prize intellectual curiosity, her honors students might not. Teagarden, the other interlocutor and a writing program administrator, wonders whether curiosity is a sufficient end goal for honors or any teaching. The speakers turn to whether curiosity or courage is the more important virtue to instill, explore a classical difference between courage and audacity, and then discuss whether and how courage could be taught.

Understanding And Addressing Mental Health In Honors Programs, Gavin D. Hood, Katherine H. Tennis

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Evidence of psychological experiences unique to high-achieving students is examined, revealing prominent themes relating to student mental health including academic identity, perfectionism, imposter syndrome, burnout, and overcommitment. These themes are explored in the context of program feedback from honors students gathered through focus group meetings as part of the program review process. Strategies for reframing failure, normalizing self-care, fostering supportive community, and engaging in nonacademic self-exploration are included. The article closes with suggestions for programmatic interventions that directly address these concerns among high-achieving students. While most honors programs are not positioned to engage in clinical interventions, they can take small …

Connecting Classroom And Community: Building Ecosystems For Meaningful Alternative Breaks, Chelsea Redger-Marquardt, Jean A. Patterson

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

This essay presents best practices in experiential learning via an alternative break program at a large public research university. In this interpretative qualitative study, authors analyze on-trip reflective blogs of students participating in an immersive alternative spring break program focused on food and shelter insecurity in Washington, D.C. (n = 11). A sensemaking/sensegiving theoretical framework is applied to explore the role of program partnering between student affairs (alternative break) and honors (coursework). Findings suggest that special care and attention be given when creating strong, direct-service experiences through reciprocal community partnerships, creating spaces for reflection during the immersive experience, and …

Generative Ai And The Honors Thesis: A Rhetorical Framework For Gai Policy, Pedagogy, And Equity, Sean Chadwick

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

This article offers a rhetorical framework for understanding how honors students engage with the capstone thesis following the emergence of generative AI (GAI) tools. Author reviews the nature of the honors thesis and analyzes some rhetorical models for thinking about GAI and literacy before offering a heuristic framework identifying four interdependent skill categories—writing, social, executive, and subject matter—that shape students’ thesis work. Drawing on findings from an interview study, this framework clarifies how GAI tools interface with existing thesis practices and pain points, allowing honors practitioners to better articulate our values, evaluate use cases, and craft GAI-informed policy. As a …

Motivational Factors Influencing Honors Student Attrition: An Expectancy–Value Perspective, Nina Marijanović, Naomi Rowland, Morgan Flanagan, E. Myo Zin, Megan Bailey

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

This study investigates the motivational factors underlying student withdrawal from an honors college using expectancy-value theory (EVT) as a guiding framework. Drawing on qualitative analysis of self-reported withdrawal forms (n = 1,110) collected between 2018 and 2023 at a midsize public university, authors identify the core drivers of attrition across three constructs of EVT: expectancy (belief in one’s ability to succeed), value (perceived benefits of participation), and cost (perceived burdens or tradeoffs). Findings indicate the most common motivations as value-related concerns, including misalignment with academic goals or career trajectories. Cost-related factors, such as workload demands, scheduling conflicts, and financial …

The Emotional Geographies Of Vietnamese Students In Australia, Anh N.Q. Phan, Ha H. Nguyen, Thuy T. Nguyen, Tho X. Pham

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

How Do Black Student Leaders Make Sense Of Mattering And Marginality Within A Small Predominantly White Institution?, Barbara A. Calissi

Theses & Dissertations

Historically, colleges and universities have struggled to meet the needs of their Black students, who remain underrepresented in higher education and graduate at lower rates than their peers. Black students at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) experience discrimination in classrooms, during campus events, and in their dormitories. Consequently, the non-dominant narratives of Black students provide valuable insights into the necessary changes for creating a more inclusive campus environment. In this study, I employed a phenomenological approach grounded in a constructivist worldview to investigate the experiences of belonging among eight Black student leaders at a PWI in New York. The study was …

The Impact Of North Carolina State Aid On Community College Students, Wesley Rhea Armstrong

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The state of North Carolina created a single scholarship to award $170 million annually to college students. This single scholarship was eventually named Next NC. Next NC represented a significant change in North Carolina aid policy when it launched in the fall of 2023. Due to the recent creation of the program, there is no research on the impact of Next NC's funding.

This quantitative study examined the impact of Next NC on community college students. The study used a population of 4,229 student records from two North Carolina community colleges. I conducted a quasi-experimental study that leveraged propensity score …

Historic Bedrocks Of Volunteer Recruitment: Collaboration Between The Peace Corps And Higher Education Partners, Melanie Elizabeth Graham

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

In this study I investigate the collaboration between the United States Peace Corps and their higher education partnership institutions, focusing on Peace Corps Prep Programs (PCPP) which aim to recruit, prepare, and retain diverse Peace Corps Volunteers. The inquiry examines the purpose, structure, and process of these collaborations to uncover successes and shortcomings, shedding light on the underlying mechanisms that contribute to effectiveness or hinder progress. A mixed-method, multiple case study methodology, integrating surveys and individual interviews that parallel The Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory, facilitates an in-depth examination of the intricate dynamics and multifaceted experiences within the collaborative partnerships. By …

Perspectives Of Support Services Among Non-Traditional International Students: A Phenomenological Exploration, Christian M. Gallie, Robert A. Griffin

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Comparative And International Higher Education And The Aid Sector Graduate Pipeline, Zeena Zakharia, Deepa Srikantaiah, Shytance Wren, Langan Courtney, Katya Murillo

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of Empires Of Ideas: Creating The Modern University From Germany To America To China By William C. Kirby (Harvard Up, 2022), Ryan M. Allen

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Digital Access, Digital Skills, And Academic Success: Rethinking Digital Capital In Higher Education, Nicholas Boon

Honors Thesis

Recent scholarship has suggested that “digital capital” (DC), encompassing digital access and competency, may play a critical role in processes of social reproduction. However, there has been limited scholarship exploring this concept’s empirical utility. Especially within higher education, where increasing digitalization may exacerbate inequality by disadvantaging students with low DC. Using a survey of 239 students at two institutions of higher education in the Midwest, this study examines the usefulness of the DC concept for understanding unequal educational outcomes in the contemporary university context. This study is among the first to empirically investigate the relationship between sociodemographic factors, DC accumulation, …

Community-Based Research And Catholic Higher Education In Solidarity: Embracing The Risks And Gifts Of Interdependence, Linda Land-Closson

The Journal of Social Encounters

With common ground in the work of solidarity and the common good, Community-Based Research (CBR) and Catholic Higher Education (CHE) can be brought into a mutually beneficial dialogue. Accordingly, this article serves first as a reminder of the radicality of solidarity, second as a callout to CHE for often falling short of solidarity-in-action, third as an invitation for CHE to offer understandings of solidarity as discernment tools to mitigate harm in the changing field of CBR, and finally as an invitation to CBR to be aware of and continue promoting solidarity through good judgment.

Every Grain Of Sand: 2024 Changes To The Scope Of Higher Education Unionization, William A. Herbert, Joseph Van Der Naald, Jacob Apkarian

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

In this research note, we supplement the findings presented in the National Center’s 2024 Directory of Bargaining Agents and Contracts in Institutions of Higher Education. We aggregate and analyze data on changes in academic collective bargaining relationships for faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate and undergraduate student employees in the year 2024. Our findings demonstrate that the growth in academic collective bargaining over the past decade that we documented in the 2024 Directory has continued. However, we find some significant contractions in faculty unionization through institutional closures and the revocation of bargaining units in the state of Florida. The research …

Jcba's Origins, Evolution, & Future, Gary Rhoades, Karen Stubaus

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

This article traces the origins and history of the Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy, and celebrates its founder, Dr. Jeffrey Cross, as well as noting the significant contributions of National Center directors Richard Boris and William Herbert.

Art And Mary Schuman, Oral History Interview, 2025, Kat Hacanyan

Oral Histories

Mary and Art Schuman are two of the most passionate members of the Center for Jewish Studies advisory board and became involved early on. They have been strong supporters of the program, contributing whatever way they can, financially or otherwise. They created the Art and Mary Schuman Endowment for Jewish Studies Lectures and Performances, and they also sponsor an annual lecture series on Eastern's campus. In Fall 2024 with the first-floor renovation of Halle Library and dedication of the Center's new space, the Schumans were honored with a plaque recognizing their dedication. In this interview, Art and Mary each talk …

Donna Winkelman, Oral History Interview, 2025, Kat Hacanyan

Oral Histories

Donna Winkelman is a member of the Center for Jewish Studies advisory board and a dedicated member of the local Jewish community. Originally from Huntington Woods, Winkelman first moved to Ann Arbor while attending U of M--where she later met her husband, Tom. She became part of the CJS team after learning about it from friend and neighbor, Decky Alexander. Both strong supporters of the center, Winkelman and her husband developed the Donna Winkelman and Thomas Easthope Endowed Scholarship in Jewish Studies, which funds students taking travel courses. In this interview, she talks about finding community, her experiences in the …

Every Grain Of Sand: 2024 Changes To The Scope Of Higher Education Unionization, William A. Herbert, Joseph Van Der Naald, Jacob Apkarian

Publications and Research

In this research note, we supplement the findings presented in the National Center’s 2024 Directory of Bargaining Agents and Contracts in Institutions of Higher Education. We aggregate and analyze data on changes in academic collective bargaining relationships for faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate and undergraduate student employees in the year 2024. Our findings demonstrate that the growth in academic collective bargaining over the past decade that we documented in the 2024 Directory has continued. However, we find some significant contractions in faculty unionization through institutional closures and the revocation of bargaining units in the state of Florida. The research …

Exploring Social Exchange Theory (Set): The Effects Of Internal Communication Between Select Staff And Managers At Yale University, Lalani Perry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative study explores the impact of internal communication on employee engagement and productivity between a select group of non-academic staff and managers at Yale University, using Social Exchange Theory (SET) as a theoretical framework. SET posits that interpersonal relationships are shaped by the exchange of resources, both tangible and intangible. While SET has been widely applied in organizational studies, there is limited research on its application within higher education, particularly concerning how communication dynamics influence employee engagement and productivity. This study seeks to contribute to the academic literature by examining the communication practices between a select group of non-academic …

Cultivating Advanced Education For Christian Faculty In Higher Education Institutions: A Phenomenological Study, Gary D. Hyrne

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the experiences of cultivating advanced education for Christian faculty at higher education institutions in the United States. The central research question guiding this study asked: What are the experiences of Christian faculty cultivating advanced education in higher education institutions? The Christian faculty participants' research was guided by data on their lived experiences at private Christian institutions, state universities, or other secular institutions of higher education. Secular relates to the worldly or temporal, not overtly or specifically religious. Bandura’s social cognitive theory guided the study. The research design followed the recommendations of …

Gc Minutes Mar 20, 2025, Graduate Council

Graduate Council Minutes

No abstract provided.