Jennifer M. Blaney

Jennifer M. Blaney, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia. Her research focuses on community college transfer pathways as mechanisms for advancing gender equity in computing and other STEM fields. Prior to her current role, she held faculty positions at Northern Arizona University and Idaho State University.

Education:

• Ph.D., Higher Education and Organizational Change, University of California, Los Angeles (2018)
• M.A., Higher Education and Organizational Change, University of California, Los Angeles (2015)
• B.A., Music with a Minor in Education, Roanoke College

Blaney's research is supported by grants from the Spencer Foundation and the National Science Foundation, including over $3 million in externally funded projects. She has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications and frequently presents at conferences such as the Association for the Study of Higher Education and the Council for the Study of Community Colleges.

Scientific Awards:

• 2024 Townsend Emerging Scholar Award
• 2023 NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship
• 2024 NSF CAREER Award

Her recent NSF-funded projects include a CAREER grant (2435201) to develop a typology of computing transfer trajectories, an ECR grant (2446240) to explore transfer success in computer science at public comprehensive universities, and a study on pathways from community colleges to computing Ph.D. programs (2439166). She also conducted research on women's transfer pathways in STEM under a NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship.