Symposium

Information

<p style="margin-left:0in;"><span style="color:#151515;">Cecilia Orphan, Ph.D., is an associate professor of Higher Education at the University of Denver and Director of Partnerships for the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges. Dr. Orphan's research agenda explores higher education's purposes in a democratic society, rural higher education, and regional public universities. Dr. Orphan’s research has been funded by the Spencer Foundation, the Ascendium Education Group, and the Joyce Foundation. She has been quoted by <i>CBS</i>, <i>The Chronicle for Higher Education</i>, <i>InsideHigherEd</i>, <i>Open Campus</i>, and <i>Newsy</i>, among other media outlets. In 2022, she gave a TEDxMileHigh Talk titled “What makes a good college – and why it matters” that has received over 1.3 million views. From 2006-2011, she directed the&nbsp;American Democracy Project, a national civic engagement initiative of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Dr. Orphan's research agenda is informed by her experiences as a working class, first-generation college student who received maximum Pell grants to attend college. She is personally familiar with the transformative nature of access institutions having attended Linn Benton Community College and Portland State University, an RPU in Oregon. Dr. Orphan holds a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Portland State University.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p>

<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(30,38,66);font-family:Raleway, sans-serif;font-size:15px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:500;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Luis Maldonado was appointed vice president for government relations and policy analysis at AASCU effective July 8, 2019. He aids the president of AASCU in this position by directing and coordinating activities that advance the mission of the association, serving as the direct liaison with government officials, federal agencies, and other educational organizations to develop policies and positions that support regional comprehensive state colleges and universities. Maldonado has more than 25 years of combined experience in government relations and advocacy efforts with various organizations in the Washington, D.C., region. He has worked in advocacy for three nonprofit organizations, most recently with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, in two former positions from 2002–2005 that included serving in a legislative affairs capacity and as chief advocacy officer from 2014–2019, and in senior advocacy positions with the Council on Foundations and the American Diabetes Association. Maldonado has a master’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.</span></span></p><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1024/1024;" src="https://my.aascu.org/cv5/cgi-bin/documentdll.dll/view?documentnum=179" width="1024" height="1024"></figure>

<p>Morgan Taylor is the director of research and business intelligence. Prior to AASCU, she served as the associate director for research at the American Council on Education (ACE), where she managed research projects and analyzed quantitative and qualitative data on issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion; race and ethnicity in higher education; minority serving institutions; and institutional leadership. Taylor led ACE’s <i>Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education</i> project since its inception in 2017. She also served as an analyst at <i>Excelencia</i> in Education, where she analyzed data and authored reports related to Latino student success and Hispanic-Serving Institutions.</p><p>Morgan holds a master of public policy from The George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree from AASCU member Grand Valley State University.</p>