Education: Ed.D. Higher Education Management, University of Pennsylvania
Areas of Expertise: Recruiting and retaining women in computer science and engineering, qualitative research methods, grant writing, program development, and teacher education.
Dr. Rita M. Powell earned her Ed.D. in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania in 2005. Her thesis, “Sundials in the Shade: a Study of Women’s Persistence in the First Year of an Undergraduate Computer Science Program in a Selective University,” took a qualitative, ethnographic approach to investigating women’s experiences, satisfaction, and persistence in the computer science major. Dr. Powell conducts research in computer science education through the development and implementation of initiatives to enhance student learning, as well as outreach programs to recruit women and underrepresented minorities into the computer science major.
