People Type: Higher Education Faculty

Burt, Brian A.

Greetings and Gratitude! I have just returned from a year-long sabbatical leave. During my leave, I prioritized my health and wellness. Now that I have returned, I will be implementing new strategies that will sustain my health and wellness. I appreciate your patience and grace during this season of transition as I discover and explore …

Crim, Jr., Elton

Elton Crim, Jr. is a Clinical Professor and the Director of the Higher Education Master’s Degree Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Across his three decades of service at UW–Madison, he has made profound contributions in teaching, service, and leadership, earning him the 2026 Ann Wallace Academic Staff Distinguished Achievement Award from the School of …

Fernandez, Frank

Frank Fernandez is Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He teaches graduate courses on organizational theory and education finance. His work emphasizes higher education’s potential for promoting the public good through three strands of research. First, concerned with the role of higher education in society, especially in regard …

Li, Weijia

Weijia Li is a Clinical Professor of international higher education leadership and the Director of the Global Higher Education MS Program. He teaches graduate courses on internationalization of higher education, leadership for study abroad programs and international student services, generative AI and career development in higher education, AI and higher education leadership, and other graduate courses …

Miller, Peter

Peter Miller teaches in the Master’s in Sports Leadership Program and serves as Director of Badger Inquiry on Sport (BIOS). He aims to develop excellent, impactful sports leaders — especially coaches. Education

Rodgers, Aireale

Dr. Aireale J. Rodgers is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Drawing on frameworks from critical race studies and the learning sciences, Dr. Rodgers’ scholarship seeks to illuminate how people’s everyday (mis)understandings about race and racism shape learning across various higher education ecologies. Currently, she uses qualitative techniques to study …

Wang, Xueli

Dr. Xueli Wang (pronounced similar to “Shoo-lee Wong”) is the Barbara and Glenn Thompson Endowed Professor in Educational Leadership at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She teaches graduate courses on community colleges, mixed methods research, and assessment in higher education. With a focus on community colleges and postsecondary STEM education, her program of research examines educational practices, …

Williams, Krystal L.

Krystal L. Williams, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. She is the Director and Principal Investigator of the Education Policy and Equity Research Collective (Ed_PERC), which explores issues regarding race and public policy with an emphasis on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and …

Winkle-Wagner, Rachelle

Rachelle Winkle-Wagner earned her PhD from Indiana University in Education Policy Studies with a concentration in higher education and minors in sociology and qualitative inquiry. Prior to coming to UW–Madison, she held faculty positions at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Education Select Publications Select Presentations

Yu, Jing

Jing Yu is an Assistant Professor of International Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2022. Her scholarship focuses on Chinese international students’ perspectives and experiences with race, racism, and racialization. Her research interests include international student mobility, intersections …