Elevated Education Exchange | Academic Insight

Dr. Sara J. Finney is Professor in the Department of Graduate Psychology and Associate Director of the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University. Dr. Finney received her PhD in Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Education from the University of Nebraska. Finney's keynote address for the EEE audience is titled, "Intentions vs. Implementation: What Students Actually Experience in Our Programs—and Why It Matters for Success".

Dr. Finney is nationally recognized for her scholarship in educational assessment, measurement, and evidence-based programming, with over 90 publications cited more than 14,000 times. Dr. Finney's research focuses on program theory, implementation fidelity, test-taking motivation and emotions, and the application of latent variable modeling to better understand the measurement of psychoeducational constructs. Her work has appeared in leading journals such as the Journal of Experimental Education, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, Educational Assessment, and Applied Measurement in Education.

Dr. Finney has received university and national awards for research, teaching, mentoring, and service. Moreover, her work evaluating the effectiveness of university educational programming has garnered 6 national awards from ACPA and NASPA. She is an active contributor to professional organizations, serves on editorial boards for major journals, contributed to the revision of the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (i.e., CAS Standards), and is an elected member of the Board of Directors for Women in Measurement.

Cindy Ann Kilgo

Cindy Ann Kilgo is an Associate Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs at Indiana University. Dr. Kilgo's research areas include high-impact educational practices and how college affects students, with a focus on specific subpopulations of students. Kilgo's keynote address for the EEE audience is titled, "How to Create, Support, and Sustain Thriving for College Students".

Dr. Kilgo has over 100 publications and presentations, with nearly 2,000 citations. In 2021, she was named the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) Early Career Award recipient and is a recipient of the Indiana University Trustees Teaching Award. She previously served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama and the Interim Co-Director for the National Survey of Student Engagement. She has degrees from the University of Iowa (Ph.D.), the University of South Carolina (M.Ed.), and Georgia Southern University (B.S.).