Kerri Kearney

Dr. Kerri Kearney's research and service primarily focuses on hidden student populations in higher education (students with backgrounds of socially stigmatizing, complex trauma); organizational behavior, theory, and structure in higher education; and visual methods in qualitative research. She is the founder of the R is for Thursday Network of Oklahoma, an initiative at the convergence of child welfare and higher education. Dr. Kearney is published in diverse fields including higher education and student affairs, management and executive coaching, and qualitative research. Her research has appeared in the Journal of College Student Development, the Community College Journal of Research and Practice, the Review of Higher Education and other higher education venues. She serves on the leadership team for Fostering Academic Achievement Nationwide (FAAN), a national network of practitioner leaders/creators of statewide foster care and higher education collaboratives; is a past executive team member for the National Research Collaborative for Foster Alumni and Higher Education (NRC-FAHE); and is a frequent presenter at national and international research and practice conferences.

Through her research and service work, Dr. Kearney received a Spencer Foundation grant to seed the nation's first research conference on foster alumni and other hidden college student populations. The inaugural conference was held in Washington D.C. in February 2020 (nchp.okstate.edu) and continues to be led by Kearney.

Dr. Kearney has an M.B.A. in management and an Ed.D., as well as multiple trauma and wellness-related certifications. She spent over 20 years as an organizational consultant before entering academia. She holds the Christine Cashel Professorship in Higher Education and Student Affairs. Dr. Kearney also serves as the Associate School Head for Educational Foundations, Leadership and Aviation in OSU's College of Education and Human Sciences.

Research Interests:

Traditionally hidden student populations in higher education; organizational behavior, theory, and structure in higher education; visual methods in qualitative research; alternative modes of mothering/adoption.