Melissa Whatley joins W&M Higher Education faculty
This fall, the School of Education welcomes new faculty members. Today, we introduce Melissa Whatley, who is joining our Higher Education faculty.
Tell us a little about your background and what brought you to W&M.
I’m coming to William & Mary from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, VT, where I worked with graduate students pursuing degrees in international and global education. One of the things I found attractive about William & Mary when I came for my campus visit was the emphasis on the international in the conversations that I had. I’m excited to be joining an institution with a greater focus on research while also maintaining the international aspects of my work in my previous position.
What’s your area of research and what question are you most passionate about answering right now?
My research focuses on questions around access and equity in international higher education in the United States. Quite a bit of my work is on the community college context, which I see as a context where some of the significant, long-standing inequities in international education can be appropriately addressed. That said, right now I’m focusing a couple research projects on questions related to international student enrollment and instances of gun violence in the United States. These questions are certainly not fun ones to be asking, but I think this kind of work is really important in our current political and social moment.
What else are you hoping to get involved with on campus or in the community?
I am looking forward to getting to know the community college context in Virginia, particularly with reference to international education. Once I get settled on campus, I’m excited to plan some visits to community colleges in the area so that I can begin to familiarize myself with their programs and contexts.
Anything else you’d like to share?
A fun fact about myself that I always share with people is that in addition to teaching higher education courses, I also am a yoga teacher. I completed my certification in 2021 and I’ve been teaching a class or two ever since then.
