Strategies: A Research-Based Approach for Academic Success, Personal Development, and Spiritual Growth: A Customized Version of Thriving in College and Beyond

Shawn Bielicki

Joseph B Cuseo

Joe Cuseo holds a doctoral degree in Educational Psychology and Assessment from the University of Iowa and is Professor Emeritus of Psychology. For more than 25 years, he directed the first-year seminar—a core college success course required of all new students.
He’s a 14-time recipient of the “faculty member of the year award” on his home campus—a student-driven award based on effective teaching and academic advising; a recipient of the “Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate Award” from the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition; and a recipient of the “Diamond Honoree Award” from the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) for contributions made to student development and the Student Affairs profession.
+++__Currently, Joe serves as an educational advisor and consultant for AVID—a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the college access and college success of underserved student populations. He has delivered hundreds of campus workshops and conference presentations across North America, as well as Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East.

Aaron Thompson

Aaron Thompson is a nationally recognized leader in higher education with a focus on policy, student success and organizational leadership and design. He serves as President of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and as professor of sociology in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Eastern Kentucky University. He recently served as interim president of Kentucky State University. Thompson holds a doctorate in sociology in areas of organizational behavior and race and gender relations.

His leadership experience spans 27 years across higher education, business and numerous non-profit boards. Thompson has researched, taught and consulted in areas of diversity, leadership, ethics, multicultural families, race and ethnic relations, student success, first-year students, retention, cultural competence and organizational design throughout his career.

As a highly sought after national speaker, Thompson has presented more than 800 workshops, seminars and invited lectures in areas of race and gender diversity, living an unbiased life, overcoming obstacles to gain success, creating a school environment for academic success, cultural competence, workplace interaction, leadership, organizational goal setting, building relationships, the first-year seminar, and a variety of other topics. He continues to serve as a consultant to educational institutions (elementary, secondary and postsecondary), corporations, non-profit organizations, police departments and other governmental agencies.

Thompson has published more than 30 publications and numerous research and peer reviewed presentations. He has authored or co-authored the following books: Changing Student Culture from the Ground Up, The Sociological Outlook, Infusing Diversity and Cultural Competence into Teacher Education, Peer to Peer Leadership: Changing Student Culture from the Ground Up. He also co-authored Thriving in College and Beyond: Research-Based Strategies for Academic Success, Thriving in the Community College and Beyond: Research-Based Strategies for Academic Success and Personal Development, Diversity and the College Experience, Focus on Success and Black Men and Divorce.

Michele Campagna

Michele Campagna, Ed.D., is the executive director of the Center for Advising and Student Transitions at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Dr. Campagna provides leadership for a comprehensive and holistic program designed to retain and engage first-year, freshman, sophomore, and transfer students. Dr. Campagna has over 20 years of experience teaching various types of first-year seminar courses and directing services for students in transition at both two-year and four-year institutions.

Dr. Campagna holds an Ed.D. in higher education and is a recipient of the “Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate Award” from the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. She is the author of “New Student Experience: A Holistic and Collaborative Approach to First-Year Retention” in Exploring the Evidence: Campus-Wide Initiatives in the First College Year, published by the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. Dr. Campagna has presented at many statewide and national conferences on designing and implementing student engagement and retention initiatives, strategic planning, assessment, and diversity.

Viki S Fecas

Viki Sox Fecas has a Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of South Carolina (USC). In her role as program manager for freshman and prefreshman programs, she coordinated the career component for all 150+ sections of the number one-ranked University 101 program in the country. She served as a career resource for international scholars visiting the National Resource Center (NRC).

Viki has served as an adjunct professor in the Higher Education and Student Affairs graduate program at USC. She was recognized as the Outstanding Freshman Advocate in 1996. She took University 101 as a freshman at USC, and has been teaching for over 20 years, including sections dedicated to transfer students. Her research interests center around the transition of college students, with a special interest in transfer students. She has written career chapters for the U101 Transitions book and Your College Experience. She has been a regular presenter at both the National First-Year Experience and Students in Transition Conferences sponsored by the NRC.