Student Retention

New Perspectives
for Innovation and Diversity in Student Retention

June 10 - 13, 2008

TACUSPA Summer Intstitute
Hosted by University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX

• Dr. Vasti Torres, Associate Professor, Higher Education and Student Affairs, Indiana University
  

  Dr. Torres teaches courses in student affairs administration, student development theory and research in higher education at Indiana University's School of Education. Prior to joining the faculty, she had 15 years of experience in administrative positions most recently serving as Associate Vice Provost and Dean for Enrollment and Student Services at Portland State University in Portland, OR.  She has written numerous articles on Latino college students, survey development and use, as well as other diversity issues. Dr. Torres was the Principle Investigator for a multi-year grant investigating the choice to stay in college for Latino students. She is active in several student affairs and higher education associations. In 2007 – 2008, she became the first Latina president of a national student affairs association – ACPA.  She has been honored as a Diamond Honoree and Emerging Scholar by the American College Personnel Association, Outstanding Faculty by the NASPA Latino/a Knowledge Community, and Program Associate for the National Center for Policy in Higher Education. Dr. Torres holds a Ph.D. in Student Affairs Administration from The University of Georgia.

• Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO, Educational Policy Institute
  

  Watson Scott Swail is the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Educational Policy Institute, a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to policy-based research on educational opportunity for all students. With offices in Virginia Beach, VA, Toronto, Ontario, and Melbourne, Australia, the mission of EPI is to impact the development and implementation of public policy and educational practice through high-level research and analysis. Prior to establishing EPI, Dr. Swail served as the Founding Director of The Pell Institute and Vice President of the Council for Opportunity in Education in Washington, DC. In addition to his research and writing, Dr. Swail teaches educational policy and research at The George Washington University in Washington, DC, where he received his doctorate in educational policy. He earned his Master's of Science from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and Bachelor's of Education from the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Dr. Swail sits on the research advisory board of the National Action Council on Minorities in Engineering (NACME) and also on the Board of Directors of the Student Resource Services in St. Louis. Biography adapted from www.educationalpolicy.org/staff/swail.html.