Speakers that both teach and inspire.
Dr. Karen Kurotsuchi Inkelas
Dr. Karen Kurotsuchi Inkelas is a Professor in the Higher Education Program in the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Education & Human Development. Her scholarship focuses on the impact of college on undergraduate students, and she is best known for her research on living-learning communities. Dr. Inkelas is the founding Principal Investigator of the National Study of Living-Learning Programs, and lead author of the books, Living-Learning Communities that Work: A Research-Based Model for Design, Delivery, and Assessment (2018) and Living-Learning Communities in Practice: A Guide for Creating, Maintaining, and Sustaining Effective Programs in Higher Education (2024). From 2018-2023, she was the sixth Principal of the University of Virginia’s Hereford Residential College.
Dr. Inkelas currently serves as the Assessment Director of the Driving Change Initiative at UVA, sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which seeks to support the success of historically marginalized student populations in STEM fields through equity-based practices.
In addition, Dr. Inkelas consults and advises on several initiatives, including as a consultant on designing living-learning communities and residence halls with two national architectural firms. She has been a featured speaker at several U.S. and international venues, including a World Bank-funded workshop on best practices in teaching and learning in STEM for college instructors in Cambodia, a keynote at the Teaching & Learning in Higher Education Conference at the National University of Singapore, and a plenary speaker at the 2nd Global Forum on the Innovation of Higher Education at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, South Korea. She has been an invited speaker for several national conferences concerning living-learning communities and residential colleges, including the Residential College Symposium, the ACUHO-I Academic Initiatives Conference, and the Residential Learning Communities Conference.
Dr. Mimi Benjamin
Dr. Mimi Benjamin is Professor of Student Affairs in Higher Education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, joining the faculty after a 19-year career as a student affairs administrator. As a professional at Iowa State University, Mimi worked closely with living learning communities and subsequently went on to study them, completing her dissertation study on the experiences of living-learning community peer mentors. She was a co-seminar leader for the Elon University Center for Engaged Learning research seminar on Residential Learning Communities as a High-Impact Practice, and with her colleagues co-edited the Learning Communities Research and Practice special issue on living-learning communities (2020). She is co-author of Living-Learning Communities that Work: A Research-based Model for Design, Delivery, and Assessment (2018) and Living-Learning Communities in Practice: A Guide for Creating, Maintaining, and Sustaining Effective Programs in Higher Education (2024); editor of Learning Communities from Start to Finish (2015); co-editor of both editions of Maybe I Should . . . Case Studies in Ethics for Student Affairs Professionals (2009, 2020); and was co-editor of ACPA Books with Dr. Jody Jessup-Anger. Recent honors she has received include ACPA Diamond Honoree (2020), ACPA Annuit Coeptis Senior Professional (2022), and IUP University Senate Distinguished Faculty Award for Service (2024). She earned a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies with a focus on Higher Education from Iowa State University, M.Ed. in College Student Personnel from Ohio University, M.A. in English from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, and B.S. in Secondary Education-English from Clarion University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Jody Jessup-Anger
Dr. Jody Jessup-Anger is professor of higher education and chair of the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership at Marquette University. Her research explores how the interaction of students and the collegiate environment affects student development and learning. Jessup-Anger (along with Benjamin and others) co-led the Elon University Center for Engaged Learning 2017-2019 Research Seminar on Residential Learning Communities, a three-year institute that promotes multi-institutional research collaboration on high impact practices in higher education. Along with Inkelas and Benjamin, she authored Living-Learning Communities in Practice: A Guide of Creating, Maintaining, and Sustaining Effective Programs in Higher Education (Taylor & Francis, 2024) and Living-Learning Communities that Work: A Research-Based Model for Design, Delivery, and Assessment (Taylor & Francis, 2023). She is currently serving as scholar-in-residence at Workshop Architects, a firm focused on planning, architecture, design, and research of social spaces.
Larry Roper
Larry Roper is currently retired and carries the designation Professor Emeritus of Language, Culture and Society at Oregon State University. Previously he served as Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Professor of Ethnic Studies at Oregon State University from 1995-2014 and Professor of Language, Culture and Society (2014-2020). He also served during the 2016-17 academic year as Interim Director of the School of Language, Culture and Society and from July 2007- September 2008 as Interim Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Larry has degrees from Heidelberg University (A.B., History), Bowling Green State University (M.A., College Student Personnel), and the University of Maryland (Ph.D., College Student Personnel Administration). He held numerous positions in higher education during his 40+ years career, including roles at St. John Fisher College, Arcadia University, St. Joseph’s University (Philadelphia), University of Delaware, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, University of California-Davis, and Ashland University. He has extensive housing experience, ranging from resident director to director of housing.
Larry has co-authored four books/monographs, including co-editing, Centering Dialogue in Leadership Development (2019). He also has more than 60 other publications. He served on more than 80 thesis or dissertation committees, having chaired more than 45. He served a 4-year term as Editor of the Journal of National Association of Student Affairs Administrators.
Anna Schmidt-MacKenzie
Anna Schmidt-MacKenzie serves as the Associate Vice President and Chief of Staff for the Division of Student Services and Enrollment Management (SSEM) at the University of Oregon. She works across the division to support division-wide initiatives and contribute as a member of the SSEM leadership team. She oversees research and assessment, central budget, and finance, and overall supports the mission to provide an outstanding student experience and strong enrollment growth.
Anna grew up in Germany and New York City, but was born in Eugene Oregon, and returned to Oregon in 2015. She has been actively involved in the Association of College and University Housing Officers International through their research committee and National Housing Training Institute (NHTI) coordinating committee. She previously worked at Columbia University and New York University, and prior to her current role, served as the Director of University Housing for Residence Life and Educational Initiatives at the University of Oregon.