New Faculty
by John Conroy
Gina Garcia is a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Administrative and Policy Studies, where she teaches masters and doctoral students pursuing degrees in higher education and student affairs. She received her PhD in higher education and organizational change from UCLA. Her research interests center on issues of equity and diversity within higher education with an emphasis on the organizational culture and identity of HSIs and the retention, success, and identity development of Latina/o college students. While at UCLA, Garcia was a research analyst at the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI), where she examined the curricular and co-curricular experiences that foster success for students of color pursuing STEM degrees. She uses organizational theory, student development theory, and critical race theory as well as multiple methods of inquiry to guide her work with a focus on strength-based approaches to studying traditionally underserved communities and institutions of higher education. In her spare time, she teaches group exercise classes, including body pump, body combat, turbokick, and bootcamp. She has two small children, Jovan and Jaren, who also keep her active.
Lindsay Page joined the faculty in the Department of Administrative and Policy Studies as well as research methods this fall. Prior to Pitt, Page was at Harvard University, where she served as a lecturer in statistics and a researcher at the Center for Education Policy Research. She earned an EdD in quantitative policy analysis in education as well as a master’s degree in statistics and a master’s degree in administration, planning, and social policy, all from Harvard. Page’s research interests are in the areas of quantitative methods and their application to questions regarding the effectiveness of educational policies and programs across the preschool to postsecondary spectrum. Much of her recent work has focused on implementing large-scale randomized trials to investigate potential solutions to summer melt, the phenomenon that college-intending students fail to transition successfully from high school to college. This body of work has received financial support from a variety of funders, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the William T. Grant Foundation, and the Heckscher Foundation for Children, as well as receiving considerable media coverage, including The Chronicle of Higher Education and National Public Radio.