Felecia Commodore, Ph.D.
Director of Research
Felecia Commodore is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education in the Educational Foundations and Leadership at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. Felecia's research focus areas are leadership, governance, and administrative practices with a particular focus on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority-Serving Institutions. Felecia’s research interests also lie in how leadership is exercised, constructed, and viewed in various communities, and the relationship of Black women and leadership.
Felecia currently has work relating to this research published in the Journal of Higher Education and the Journal of Negro Education. She is also a contributor to HBCULifestyle.com and Diverse Issues in Higher Education. She is co-editor of the book Opportunities and Challenges of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Graduate Education at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): A Student Perspective. She is also the lead author of the book, Black College Women: A Guide to Success in Higher Education.
Felecia has a background working as an admissions counselor and academic advisor at Trinity University, Washington, D.C. and University of Maryland, College Park respectively. Felecia received her Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education. She also obtained an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Maryland, College Park, MD and a B.S. in Marketing with a minor in Sociology from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA.
For CHEGC, Dr. Commodore is responsible for all aspects of the team's research process, including the design and development of new research projects.
Demetri L. Morgan, Ph.D.
Director of Operations
Demetri L. Morgan, Ph.D., is currently an Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the Loyola University Chicago School of Education. Dr. Morgan’s broad research interests center on the purpose and responsibilities of higher education in a diverse democracy. Accordingly, Dr. Morgan’s governance research agenda seeks to understand and illuminate how higher education governing boards contribute or detract from equity and inclusion efforts aimed at responding to the changing demographics of higher education.
Dr. Morgan’s research has been published in the Journal of Higher Education, Review of Research in Higher Education, the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, the NASPA Journal of Women and Higher Education, and the eJournal of Public Affairs. Additionally, Demetri's work has been shared at national conferences including the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) and the American Educational Research Association (AERA).
Dr. Morgan received his Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.S. Ed. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Indiana University-Bloomington, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Florida.
For CHEGC, Dr. Morgan works to organize and manage operations to facilitate the development of the collaborative's agenda and long-term success.
Raquel M. Rall, Ph.D.
Director of Strategic Partnerships & Initiatives
The governance of higher education has received insufficient study in comparison with its import, power, and influence over all facets of the academy. With her research, Rall aims to push research on higher education governance from the periphery to the core in order to better understand the decisions and decision-makers who are tasked with de jure control of higher education. Rall’s research centers on identifying best practices to increase access to and success in higher education for traditionally marginalized communities and on bridging research and practice. She is dedicated to maximizing educational outcomes for communities that have traditionally had the least opportunities and uses her academic research to better understand and uncover the meanings and intricate characteristics of experiences, interactions, people, events, and environments pertaining to postsecondary access and success for underrepresented and underserved student groups.
Dr. Rall aims to understand the conditions that lead to and ultimately result in widespread change in education policy and the ramifications of this transformation on student experiences and outcomes. Of particular interest to Rall is research that helps further illuminate and connect aspects of governing boards that are central to concepts of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Her focus for this research has been the strategic apex and ideologies of access, diversity, and inclusion at the systemic and structural level of higher education governance with an emphasis on governing boards.
Rall has presented her work at national conferences including the Association for the Study of Higher Education, the American Educational Research Association, and the Association of Governing Boards.
For CHEGC, Dr. Rall is charged with identifying, developing and structuring partnerships with entities that support CHEGC’s mission, program areas and key initiatives while amplifying partners’ reach, expertise, influence, and resources.