New faculty joining the Education and Human Ecology ranks bring a breadth of talent and national recognition for the 2019-20 academic year.
One is a Food for Health Discovery Theme initiative faculty member.
Two are among the best educators in the nation for influencing education policy and practice.
Three have won research grants of $1 million or more.
All are dedicated to the education and well-being of others, especially those from underrepresented populations.
Scroll through the carousel and select the images to learn more about each of our 15 new faculty.
Interests: Understanding the connections between organizations and social change, particularly how organizations support and manage issues of race, inequality and injustice
Courses: KINSISM 4245 – Leadership and Programming in the Sport Industry
Agyemang joins the college from Louisiana State University where he was an associate professor of sport management. With a PhD in sport management from Texas A&M University, he has published and presented widely on topics such as how race manifests itself in organizations and institutions, including racial diversity in the sport industry and the influence of activism and social movements.
Agyemang has worked with professional sport organizations on topics concerning race. He has also worked in several roles within intercollegiate athletic departments, supporting student-athletes academically and in career development.
As co-principal investigator on research projects, he has addressed organizational innovation in the NCAA's Men's Basketball Tournament and online education in sport management. He is on the editorial board of four journals and is deputy editor of Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal.
During the spring 2019 quarter, he was a visiting professor at University of California,Davis’ Graduate School of Management. Prior to his time at Louisiana State, he was an assistant professor at Eastern Kentucky University. His has an MEd degree in Higher Education Administration and a BA in political science, both from the University of Oklahoma.
Arya Ansari
Faculty Associate, Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy
Interests: Understanding the short- and long-term effects of home and school systems on the development of children from disadvantaged backgrounds, with the aim of intervening and informing policies that can minimize the opportunity gap in the United States
Spring Courses: HDFS 2410 – Child Development
Joining the college from the Curry School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia, Ansari is the principal investigator on grants from the Spencer Foundation and the National Institute of Health to examine school absences among preschoolers and elementary school students. In addition to work on five other past grants, he was principal investigator on a grant from the Department of Health and Human Services to study the long-term benefits of early care and education programs. A prolific author, he has published more than 50 articles in refereed journals, with another 20 under review and in preparation.
Ansari was recognized in 2017 with an Early Career Fellowship in Early Childhood Education and Development awarded under a joint initiative by the American Educational Research Association and the Society for Research on Child Development. He currently serves on the editorial board of the Early Childhood Research Quarterly. Ansari earned his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin.
Rebecca Crandall
Coordinator, Student Personnel Assistantship Program
Interests: Campus climate; college student religion and spirituality; college students’ sense of purpose; higher education and student affairs graduate preparation programs; intercollegiate athletics; LGBTQ+issues in higher education; worldview diversity in higher education
Courses: ESHESA 7500 – Introduction to Student Affairs; ESHESA 7554 – Admission and Retention of College Students
Crandall is a familiar face in EHE. She was a senior lecturer since 2017, teaching graduate-level courses, managing the Student Personnel Assistantship Program and providing leadership to foster the education of more than 100 students in the Higher Education and Student Affairs program.
Her success as a researcher has resulted in publication in several peer-reviewed journals, including The International Journal of Sport and Society and the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Additionally, her research on student-athlete spirituality and its role in academic and psychological well-being earned Crandall the Dissertation of the Year from the Jon C. Dalton Institute on College Student Values in 2017.
She earned her PhD from North Carolina State University in 2016.
Lori Patton Davis
Department Chair, Educational Studies
Interests: African Americans in higher education; Critical race theory; Diversity initiatives on college campuses; Girls and women of color in educational and social contexts; and college student development and student affairs graduate preparation
Patton Davis is a highly respected and accomplished professor in higher education. She joins the faculty in Education and Human Ecology from Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis where she was a professor of urban education studies and chair of the urban education counseling, leadership and policy studies department.
Her scholarship has earned Patton Davis national recognition as a scholar, educator and though leader in higher education and student affairs. Her peer-reviewed journal articles are cited more than 6,000 times, and her research has been funded by organizations such as the Spencer Foundation, Lumina Foundation and American Psychological Foundation. Additionally, she served on numerous editorial boards for journals in the field of education and was associate editor for the International Journal for Qualitative Studies in Education.
She has received several national awards including being acclaimed as one of the top educators in the nation. Her influence in higher education is also recognized as she is a frequently sought expert on a wide range of education topics. Patton Davis also has advised university presidents, philanthropic foundation executives, culture center directors and educators in urban K-12 schools.
Patton Davis earned her doctorate degree from Indiana University-Bloomington.
Danene Fast
Interests: Accessibility for individuals with visual impairments, including orientation and mobility, inclusion, educational services, issues in rural education, policy and transportation
Courses: EDUTL 5123 – Early Childhood Pedagogy; EDUTL 5501 – Inclusion: Philosophical, Social and Practice Issues; EDUTL 5507 – Visual Processes
Fast, ’18 PhD, brings to the college years of experience as a certified intervention specialist for students with visual impairments, elementary educator and a certified orientation and mobility specialist. For the last seven years, she was adjunct faculty at Ohio State and a program manager in the college's Department of Teaching and Learning. She is lead faculty for the program in visual impairments, working with students enrolled in the Early Childhood Education/Visual Impairments program and Project VIBE, as well as master's and graduate non-degree students in the visual impairments program.
Fast is recognized for her work in education, receiving a prestigious fellowship award from the National Leadership Consortium for Sensory disabilities and recognition through both the local and national chapters of the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired. Fast serves on several boards, including the American Printing House Press for the Blind Advisory Board and the Council for Exceptional Children.
Edward Fletcher
Interests: Examining students' participation in and outcomes of engaging in high school career academies
Courses: ESWDE 5655 – Coordination of Work-based Learning in Career and Technical Education
Fletcher, ’09 PhD, focuses on understanding the role and impact of career and technical education school reform efforts on student schooling experiences, achievement and engagement. He is also interested in improving student outcomes in the transition from secondary to postsecondary education and work, particularly for students of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds.
As an associate professor at the University of South Florida, he served as principal investigator of a $1.176 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study the experiences and outcomes of high school students in three National Academy Foundation Information Technology career academies. He was a co-principal investigator on a grant, also from the National Science Foundation, to examine life challenges of students pursuing advanced technology degree programs within community colleges and how that impacted their persistence.
His prominence led to the invitation to be on the advisory board for the Institute of Education Sciences’ Expanding the Evidence Base for Career and Technical Education. He also serves on the National Academy Foundation’s Distinguished Academy Review Visit Team, which evaluates schools for whether they meet academy standards.
The field knows Fletcher for his national and international presentations and publications, as well as for being co-editor of the Journal of Career and Technical Education.
He has presented and published both nationally and internationally.
Donna Ford
Interests: Gifted education and educational psychology; urban education and achievement gaps; family involvement and achievement orientation; multicultural curriculum
Ford is a distinguished and honored professor who returns to Education and Human Ecology after 15 years of accomplishments. During her career, she has published more than 125 refereed articles, 14 books, 77 book chapters and 33 editor-reviewed publications. She has amassed more than $16 million in grants to support her work.
Most recently, Ford’s research and leadership on topics such as closing achievement and opportunity gaps by race and income has earned her awards,including, the Dr. Asa Hilliard Model of Excellence Award from the College Board and the National Alliance for Black School Educator’s W.E.B. Dubois Higher Education Award. She was named a top education policy and practice influencer in 2019 and a Top 25 Woman in Higher Education by Diverse Issues in Higher Education.
She joins the Special Education faculty from the Peabody College of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University, where she most recently held the Cornelius Vanderbilt Endowed Chair.
Ford earned her doctorate degree in urban education, specializing in educational psychology, from Cleveland State University.
Sarah Lang
Director, Virtual Lab School
Interests: Strengthening children’s experiences in childcare by examining the networks of relationships and contexts in which children develop, with the goal of ensuring the early childhood workforce is well trained and supported so they can provide high-quality care.
Spring Courses: EDUCST/EDUTL 8082 – Introduction to Applied Developmental Science in Education
Lang, ’04 MS, ’14 PhD, leads a team that provides content and conducts research for the Virtual Lab School, an innovative, research-based, online professional development system created by the college for child and youth educators and funded by U.S. Department of Defense and the USDA. She joined the project in 2014 as a senior research scientist and is now co-principal investigator of the current, $5 million grant. She applies her experience in teaching and research to provide high-quality, required training to 29,000 military-affiliated childcare professionals around the world. She currently is leading a community pilot with the City of Columbus serving more than 100 local,early childhood education professionals.
Lang has taught courses in the college’s online Associate of Arts Degree in Early Childhood Education. She has been published in multiple journals and serves on the editorial board of the journal Early Education and Development. She recently presented details about the lab school project and her research at the annual State and Territory Child Care and Development Fund Administrators Meeting, at the invitation of the Office of Child Care, U.S. Administration for Children and Families.
John Marschhausen
Interests: Professional development, personalized education, school culture development, parent engagement, teacher preparation and licensure
Courses: ESEADM 7362 – Board Politics and Public Relations; ESEADM 6350 – Introduction to Educational Administration
The superintendent of Hilliard City School District, the eighth largest in Ohio, Marschhausen’s leadership has resulted in innovative educational programming to support all children’s learning.
As Superintendent in Resident, he is a conduit between the K-12 community and the college, and will mentor college students pursuing educational leadership roles. Marschhausen’s influence at the state and national levels has resulted in appointments to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s Executive Work Force Development Board and former Governor John Kasich’s Digital Learning Task Force.
Marschhausen is relentless in the pursuit of personalized education for each student as they pursue their own interests. He is driven by the commitment that growth requires embracing productive discomfort and inspiring others to redefine their mindset to become elite.
He earned his PhD in leadership from Capella University. Prior to his leadership at Hilliard, Marschhausen was superintendent at Loveland City School District and East Knox Local School District. He has also been a high school principal, athletic director and social studies teacher.
Dustin Miller
Director of the Doctor of Education (EdD) in Educational Administration
Interests: The principalship, especially high school; the impact of scholarly practitioners in K-12 settings; how professional learning supports educational change; how to communicate effectively within the school environment; understanding leadership stress; educational statistics and research methods
Courses: ESEADM 6362 – Strategic Human Capital Management
Miller, ’98 BS, ’99 MA, ’11 PhD, spent 20 years in K-12 as an English teacher, director of secondary education and middle school principal. His most recent role was principal of an 1,800-student high school. He specializes in supporting the practice of school administrators.
He has served on the board of directors for the Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators (OASSA), including a term as the president. In addition, he has chaired the OASSA Assistant Principal Committee, Curriculum Leadership Committee and Athletic Committee. He also holds an appointment on the Ohio Department of Education Standards Board.
Miller frequently presents at national, state and local conferences as well as at school district’s professional development events. He specializes in topics such as education change in the 21st century and how those in educational settings can communicate effectively with colleagues, parents and administrators
Penny Pasque
Associate Director of Qualitative Methods, Data Access and Analysis Core
Interests: Qualitative inquiry; Indigenous methodologies; Educational equity and diversity; Relationships between higher education and society
Pasque joins the Educational Studies faculty and Data Access and Analysis Core from North Carolina State University where she was a professor and department head. She utilizes qualitative methodologies as well as studies qualitative methodologies that work toward educational equity. Her scholarship examines complexities and congruency with paradigmatic approaches, methodologies, data collection, data analysis and dissemination of research. In addition, her research agenda includes the Researching Educational Diversity–Decolonizing Indigenous Research Team (RED-DIRT), National Study on Women in Higher Education and Student Affairs, higher education for the public good, and epistemic in/justice in graduate education. Pasque is editor of The Review of Higher Education.
She was an endowed professor and named Teacher of the Year while at the University of Oklahoma as well as received multiple awards as a mentor of researchers and graduate students in her career.
Jay Plasman
Interests: College and career readiness: career and technical education, education planning, high school completion; 21st Century (social-emotional) skills and dispositions; Large-scale datasets; Quasi-experimental design methodologies
Courses: ESWDE 7757 – Foundations of Human Resource Development
Plasman joins the Workforce Development and Education team after completing his post-doctoral fellowship in the Institute of Education Policy at Johns Hopkins University. His recent research looks at the pipeline of career and technical education between high school and college along with the role this type of education has on high school dropout rates and college considerations. He formerly worked as a teacher at the elementary-, middle-and high-school levels. Plasman also served as the director of education at a vocational training school for several years prior to pursuing his PhD.
Stephen John Quaye
Interests: Engaging students, particularly those from “minoritized” backgrounds, in their postsecondary education experience;the influence of race, racism and racial battle fatigue on college campuses; student and scholar activism; and critical qualitative methodologies and methods
Courses: ESHESA 8895-0010 – Activism on College Campuses
Quaye focuses on removing barriers to academic and social engagement for all college students. He is widely recognized as the past president of ACPA: College Student Educators International. He received awards from the organization’s Graduate Students and New Professionals Community of Practice, including the Outstanding Mentor to Graduate Students.
His numerous research publications examine topics such as student and scholar activism, engaging in and facilitating difficult dialogues and advancing creativity for pedagogy and practice. In his research, he emphasizes the difference between college students being involved and being engaged – the latter being defined as the investment of both time and effort in educationally purposeful activities.
He is first editor of the textbook Student Engagement in Higher Education: Theoretical Perspectives and Practical Approaches for Diverse Populations, which contains concrete curricular and co-curricular models on how to create campus conditions that engage all students – from students of color to low-income students and more.
He also is associate editor of the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. He was faculty at the University of Maryland, and most recently, Miami University.
Steven Stone Sabali
Interests: Psycho-educational experiences of racial/ethnic minority college students: sense of belonging, marginalization, racial identity, impostor feelings, activism, social justice, shame, anxiety and depression; characteristics of white antiracists, antiracist and ally development; effective practices for fostering antiracist development and racial solidarity between students of color and aspiring white allies
Stone-Sabali arrives from the University of Texas at Austin where he earned a PhD. He taught topics ranging from social psychology to human development to research measurement. He presented at national conferences for the American Psychological Association and the Association of Black Psychologists. Stone-Sabali published articles in journals such as the Journal of Black Psychology and the Journal of Counseling Psychology, and is first author of a chapter in The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences: Vol. IV.
He has devoted his time to university leadership, serving on the University of Texas planning team of the 2018 and 2017 Bystander Intervention Conferences and as coordinator of the Predictors of Activism in Black College Students Survey and Data Collection Project for his Counseling Psychology program at the university.
He is accredited by the American Psychological Association. During his practicum experiences, he served university students, community members and K-12 students. He is trained to conduct career exploration activities and to process career assessments such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Strong Interest Indicator.
Chris Zhu
Interests: Using mass spectrometry-based metabolomics, in combination with advanced chemometrics, for the sensitive, reliable and non-invasive detection and monitoring of human diseases
Chris Zhu joined the Education and Human Ecology faculty in January 2019. He is a Foods for Health Discovery Theme faculty member focused on “a future of personalized nutrition for optimal global health.” His human nutrition laboratory is a mass spectrometry-based metabolomics research group seeks to develop technologies that could promote the rapid and non-invasive disease detection and discoveries of novel nutritional intervention strategies and therapeutic targets.
Zhu earned his PhD from the University of Vermont where he focused on novel mass spectrometry method development for rapid bacteria detection and identification.He then was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington’s Northwest Metabolomics Research Center where he continued his mass spectrometry work in metabolic profiling for cancer biomarker discovery and disease diagnosis and monitoring.
He was most recently an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Miami University.
