Staff and Consultants
Below are the WICHE staff and consultants who are available to you as resources in the project’s specific areas – academic affairs, communications, data, financing/financial aid, and student services.
Academic Affairs
Demarée K. Michelau is the director of policy analysis at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). The author of numerous education reports, policy briefs, and magazine articles, she has experience in higher education policy on issues such as college affordability and access, accelerated learning options, K-16 reform, and postsecondary remedial education. Previously, she worked for the National Conference of State Legislatures as a policy specialist. Michelau received her bachelor's degree in public law from Northern Illinois University and her master's degree in political science from the University of Colorado at Boulder where she is currently a Ph.D. candidate.
dmichelau@wiche.edu or 303.541.0223
Russell Poulin is the associate director of WCET, which is a cooperative network of institutions and organizations dedicated to advancing access and excellence in higher education through the innovative use of technology. Based in Boulder, Colorado, WCET’s membership represents 46 states and 8 countries. Russ organizes the information-sharing activities among WCET’s members and directs several projects on behalf of WCET, including the current restructuring of EduTools.info – a website that provides independent reviews of educational software and courses. Recent consulting projects include a report analyzing the structure and financing of multi-institution collaborations, recommending revisions of the structure of eCampus Alberta, and developing a vision document for Massachusetts Colleges Online. Russ coordinated distance education activities for the North Dakota University System and was founding director of the North Dakota Interactive Video Network. Russ earned his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Colorado at Denver and a Masters in Statistics and Research Methodology from the University of Northern Colorado.
rpoulin@wcet.info or 303.541.0305
Communications
Terry Bower, consultant, provides strategic counsel to colleges, universities, and organizations that support them; her areas of expertise include communications strategy, branding and positioning, partnership development, fundraising, program development and management, and training and facilitation. Bower has developed and marketed educational programs at the University of Maryland and the George Washington University, managed fundraising communications at NYU and developed online curricula for the University of Phoenix. She has also worked with a range of higher education organizations, including the College Board, the Lumina Foundation for Education, and the Georgetown Center for Education and the Workforce, just to name a few. Bower has served as an adjunct faculty member at Mesa Community College and Montgomery College, and is currently an adjunct faculty member at Strayer University Online. She lives in Washington, DC. terrybower1@gmail.com 202.222.5243
Alice Anne Bailey is an applied social psychologist and an expert in attitude and behavior change. She currently serves as the SREB Go Alliance Project Coordinator. Go Alliance is an interstate cooperative that helps education marketing campaigns share communications expertise and audience research as well as marketing materials such as radio and TV spots across state lines in order to improve quality and reduce costs. Go Alliance also helps to replicate successful school- and community-based college access programs that help students graduate high school and enter college. Her professional career began at IBM, where she worked in the areas of job training design, skills assessment, and organizational change consulting. She also worked with Connor Partners, a leading organizational change consulting firm. From there, she “heard the call” of the nonprofit world and joined SREB in 1999, where she has conducted several large-scale surveys and data analysis projects as well as authored several technical and policy reports on topics ranging from adult learning to teacher certification. As research associate for SREB’s Distance Learning Policy initiative, she worked to increase access to higher education by identifying and addressing inhibitive postsecondary policy. Alice Anne earned her doctorate in social psychology in 2004 from Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research on how negative stereotypes impact women’s interest and performance in STEM fields was granted the Outstanding Original Research Contribution Award by the Georgia Psychological Association.consultant, provides strategic counsel to colleges, universities, and organizations that support them; her areas of expertise include communications strategy, branding and positioning, partnership development, fundraising, program development and management, and training and facilitation.aliceannebailey@mindspring.com or 770.819.4112
Jami M. Hornbuckle is the assistant vice president for communications & marketing at Morehead State University (Morehead, Kentucky). She has worked in higher education for over 13 years in several capacities, including student services, recruitment, community relations, alumni relations, regional campus programs, web marketing, and institutional marketing. She currently serves as an institutional representative on the Kentucky Council for Postsecondary Education’s Project Graduate, Go Higher Kentucky, and Public Relations Officers committees. She is active in the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), the American Marketing Association, and other professional and civic organizations. j.hornbuckle@moreheadstate.edu or 606.783.2372
Data
Brian T. Prescott is the director of policy research in the Policy Analysis and Research unit at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). In this role, he has primary responsibility for obtaining and analyzing quantitative data with public policy relevance. He is the author of the 7th edition of Knocking at the College Door, WICHE’s widely-used projections of high school graduates by state and race/ethnicity. Additionally, he oversees an annual report on tuition and fees charges at public higher education institutions in the West, annually prepares a regional benchmarks report, maintains a web-based statistical fact book, and authors occasional policy briefs and chapters. Prescott also has experience working with states on issues of access, success, affordability, accountability, workforce development, and accelerated learning options. Prior to joining WICHE in August 2004, Prescott worked in the Office of State Governmental Relations at the University of Virginia, where he also earned a Ph.D. in higher education. He also holds degrees from the University of Iowa and the College of William and Mary.
bprescott@wiche.edu or 303.541.0255
James Purcell, director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, previously served as associate vice chancellor for strategic planning and analysis for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. Jim actively participated in the development of the Oklahoma State Regents Public Agenda and played a key leadership role in advancing two of the six agenda items: a state-wide adult degree completion program and higher education’s response to the healthcare worker shortage. He has served in positions in institutional research, planning, and assessment in public, private, two-year, and four-year institutions in Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia. Academic preparation includes a BS in Public Administration from Auburn University, an M. Ed. in Counseling from the University of Montevallo, and an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Alabama. Jim’s efforts in institutional effectiveness are wide and varied with extensive experience in student placement, academic and student affairs program review, academic program development, program entrance requirements, course evaluations, grade distributions, student retention and graduation. He has served as a speaker for ACT on student assessment in five states and served as a keynote speaker for six state or regional conferences on institutional research and assessment. He has served as a consultant to more than a dozen college campuses, organizations and businesses. Active in professional organizations, Jim was president of the Southern Association for Institutional Research in 2003-2004.
jpurcell@adhe.edu or 501.416.9492
Financing/Financial Aid
David A. Longanecker has served as the president of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education in Boulder, CO, since 1999. WICHE is a regional compact between 15 Western states created to assure access and excellence in higher education through collaboration and resource sharing among the higher education systems of the West. Previously, Longanecker served for six years as the assistant secretary for postsecondary education at the U.S. Department of Education. Prior to that he was the state higher education executive officer (SHEEO) in Colorado and Minnesota. He was also the principal analyst for higher education for the Congressional Budget Office. Longanecker has served on numerous boards and commissions. He has written extensively on a range of higher education issues. His primary interests in higher education are: expanding access to successful completion for students within all sectors of higher education, promoting student and institutional performance, assuring efficient and effective finance and financial aid strategies, and fostering effective use of educational technologies, all for the purpose of sustaining the nation’s strength in the world and increasing quality of life for all Americans, particularly those who have traditionally been left out in the past. He holds an Ed.D. from Stanford University, an M.A. in student personnel work from George Washington University, and a B.A. in sociology from Washington State University.
dlonganecker@wiche.edu or 303.541.0201
Student Services
LeRoy Walser has substantial professional development, training, administrative, evaluation, and instructional experience at multiple levels of education and business including local school districts, federal government, universities, private sector, and social service organizations. He has researched, designed, and implemented new education and work delivery systems based on continuous improvement strategies and quality theories, trained and managed staffs, evaluated projects and programs, and provides organizational development consultations for education and private sector organizations. With expertise at setting up data rich environments where data can be used as an effective management tool, preparing organization staff to be ready for accepting responsibility for managing growth and improvement, and developing strategic collaborations among community organizations. Dr. Walser is available to apply his knowledge and skills in evaluation, grant preparation, and development strategies for most organizations, and can do it in English or Spanish. Dr. Walser is CEO of his own Oklahoma based company, Choosing Excellence LLC.
flwalser@cox.net or 405.822.6704
