NCID-3065
Cecilia Orphan
Associate Professor of Higher Education
University of Denver
Education/Degree:
1 Higher Education Higher Education (University of Pennsylvania)
About
Cecilia M. Orphan, Ph.D., is a working class, first generation college graduate who received maximum Pell grants to attend college. As a child, she experienced homelessness and was a welfare recipient. She is personally familiar with the transformative nature of need based financial aid and colleges designed to expand access after attending Linn Benton Community College, a Rural-Serving Institution (RSI), and Portland State University, a Regional Public University (RPU). Simply put, attending these colleges changed her life. She has devoted my career to expanding understanding of and appreciation for RPUs and RSIs so that other students might enjoy the same opportunities she had, and so that higher education’s contributions to equity and democracy are strengthened. Dr. Orphan is committed to bringing broader exposure and understanding to RPUs and RSIs and improve research, funding, policy, and media coverage of these sectors. Part of this work has entailed being in the news.
Current Work
I have worked to bring exposure to RPUs and RSIs and improve research, funding, policy, and media coverage of these sectors. With support from the Spencer Foundation, I led a research study that identified and defined RPUs and produced a quantitative dataset of RPUs. Prior to this study, no official list of RPUs existed, and RPUs and their students suffered from invisibility in quantitative research and consequential policy discussions. I was also part of the ARRC research team that developed a novel metric to identify and define RSIs, work that has received significant media and policymaker attention. I am passionate about leveraging research and teaching to improve the conditions for learning and upward mobility for first-generation college students. I regularly give workshops and keynote addresses about how colleges might lead student-centered, equity-focused organizational change. I also support policy think tanks and policy leaders in designing public policies that support RPUs an
Research Area Keyword(s)
Regional Public Universities, educational equity, Rural Serving Institutions, Rural College Access, public policy