College of Education Educational Organization & Leadership http://education.illinois.edu/frp/eol/dbragg

Faculty Research Profiles: Debra Bragg

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Professor

Educational Organization & Leadership
343 Education Building
1310 S. 6th St. MC 708
Champaign, IL 61820USA
business217 244-8974
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Research Biography

My research focuses on transition to college by youth and adults, especially student populations have not attended college historically. I am particularly interested in how underserved youth and adult students (minority, low income, first-generation students, immigrants) use the community college to transition to higher education, including how public policies position community colleges as a primary port of entry. The expanding mission of community colleges, including the increasing importance of linkages to high schools, adult education, and the workforce is of particular interest. My work is affiliated with the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL), a research organization that I have directed since coming to Illinois in 1989. OCCRL is supported by government agencies at the state and federal levels and foundations such as the Lumina Foundation for Education and the Joyce Foundation. OCCRL has also received corporate funding from the Boeing Company.

Degrees

  • Ph.D., Comprehensive Vocational Education, The Ohio State University, 1985
  • M.S., Home Economics Education, The Ohio State University, 1980
  • B.S., Home Economics Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1977

Key Professional Appointments

  • Professor, Educational Organization and Leadership, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2003--
  • Associate Professor, Department of Educational Organization and Leadership, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1996-2003
  • Associate Professor, Department of Human Resource Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1996-2002

Activities & Honors

  • Senior Scholar Award, Awarded April 2008, Council for the Study of Community Colleges, 2007-2008
  • Distinguished Teaching Career Award, Awarded May 2008, College of Education, 2007-2008
  • Co-Chair Awards Committee, American Educational Research Association - Division J: Higher Education, 2004-2007
  • Director, National Office, National Council on Student Development, 2003-2007
  • Editorial Board Member, Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 2002-2008
  • Board member, National Science Foundation, 2002-2005
  • President, Council for the Study of Community Colleges, 2001-2002
  • Recognition for Outstanding Service, Illinois State Board of Education, 2001
  • Academic Leadership Fellow, Committee on Institutional Cooperation , 2000-2001
  • Meritorious Service Award, American Vocational Education Research Association, 2000
  • Distinguished Scholar, College of Education, 1997

Grants

  • Principal Investigator, Perkins IV Consultation and Technical Assistance, Illinois State Board of Education, 2007
  • Principal Investigator, Moving Beyond the GED: A Transition Pathway for Success at Community Colleges, U.S. Department of Education (University of Minnesota), 2006
  • Principal Investigator, Initiatives to Enhance Tech Prep and High School-to-Community College Articulation in Illinois, Illinois Community College Board, 2003
  • Principal Investigator, Effective Programs in Career and Technical Education, U.S. Department of Education (Ohio State University), 2003
  • Principal Investigator, CTE Transition Program Evaluation, U.S. Department of Education (Ohio State University), 1999
  • Principal Investigator, National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education: Virtual Toolkit for CTE Leaders of High School Reform, U.S. Department of Education (Ohio State University), 1999

Selected Publications

  • Townsend, B., & Bragg, D. (Eds.). (2005). The ASHE reader on community colleges in the 21st century. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing.
  • Bragg, D., & Barnett, E. (2006). Academic pathways to and from the community college. New directions for community colleges: Vol. 2006. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  • Bragg, D. (2002). Contemporary vocational models and programs: What the research tells us. In T. Bers & H. Calhoun (Eds.), Next steps for the community college: Consensus and contradictions in literature and practice. New Directions for Community Colleges, 117 (pp. 25-34). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  • Bragg, D. (2001). The past, present and future role of federal vocational legislation in the United States. Journal of Applied Research in Community Colleges, 9(1), 57-67.
  • Bragg, D. (2002). Transition to college. In J. Forest & K. Kinser (Eds.), Higher education in the United States: An encyclopedia (pp. 676-680). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.

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