About the Center
The Center for the Study of Community Colleges was established in 1974 by The American Community College authors Arthur Cohen and Florence Brawer along with John Lombardi, former superintendent of the Los Angeles Community College District, in order to conduct original research pertaining to community college policy and practice.
Directors
Since 2006, the Center has been led by a national board of community college scholars,
including four permanent and two ex officio directors.
President
Dr. Wagoner is associate professor of higher education at Idaho State University. His research focuses on community college policy and practice, organizational change in higher education, and faculty issues. He holds a B. A. in English from the University of Utah, a M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction from Westminster College,
and a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Arizona.
Dr. Wagoner is co-author of
Community College Faculty:
At Work in the New Economy
(Palgrave Macmillan, 2006 and 2011), written with John S. Levin
and Susan T. Kater.
Secretary & Treasurer
Dr. Kisker is president of Kisker Education Consulting in Los Angeles, California. She holds a B.A. in psychology and education from Dartmouth College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in higher education from the
University of California, Los Angeles.
Dr. Kisker is author of The American Community College (Jossey-Bass, 2023), with Arthur M. Cohen and Florence B. Brawer, The Shaping of American Higher Education: Emergence and Growth of the Contemporary System (Jossey-Bass, 2024) with Arthur M. Cohen, and Creating
Entrepreneurial Community Colleges,
A Design Thinking Approach
(Harvard Education Press, 2021).
Board Member
Dr. Kater is associate professor of higher education at Idaho State University. For 30 years, she worked in a variety of community college roles, including as special assistant to the chancellor of the Maricopa Community Colleges and associate vice chancellor of institutional research. Her research focuses on faculty work and shared governance. She holds a B.S. in education from Baylor University, an M.S. in exercise physiology, and a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Arizona.
Dr. Kater is co-editor of Understanding Community Colleges (Routledge, 2013 and 2018), with John S. Levin, and co-author of Community College Faculty: At Work in the New Economy (Palgrave Macmillan,
2006 and 2011), with John S. Levin and Richard L. Wagoner.
Board Member
Dr. Palmer is professor emeritus of higher education at Illinois State University and former director the Grapevine project, which tracks state tax appropriations for higher education. He holds a B.A. in English and German from Pacific University and an M.L.S. in library science and Ph.D. in higher education from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Dr. Palmer is author of numerous publications, including Financing Community Colleges: Where We Are, Where We're Going (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015) with Richard M. Romano.
Board Member, Ex Officio
Dr. Amanda O. Latz is professor of Higher Education and Community College Leadership at Ball State University. Her research spans the lived experiences of individuals involved within the community college setting, particularly students and faculty, as well as qualitative research methodologies and visual methods such as photovoice. Dr. Latz holds a B.S. in Sociology from James Madison University, an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Appalachian State University, an Ed.D. in Adult, Higher, and Community Education, and a certificate in College and University Teaching from Ball State University.
Dr. Latz is author of Community College Student Mental Health: Faculty Experiences and Institutional Actions (2023, Rowman & Littlefield) and Community College is College: Destigmatizing the Option for High Achieving Learners (2025, Routledge).
Board Member, Ex Officio
Dr. Xueli Wang is the Barbara and Glenn Thompson Endowed Professor in Educational Leadership at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research centers community colleges, spanning topics including students’ success and mental health; transfer trajectories; faculty development; teaching and learning; and educational change and innovation. She holds a B.A. and M.A. in English from Beijing International Studies University and a Ph.D. in higher education from Ohio State.
Dr. Wang is author of On My Own: The Challenge and Promise of Building Equitable STEM Transfer Pathways (2020) and Delivering Promise: Equity-Driven Educational Change and Innovation in Community and Technical Colleges (2024), both published by Harvard Education Press.
As president of the Council for the Study of Community Colleges, Dr. Wang serves in an ex officio capacity.