James K. Winfield, Ed.D.
Associate Dean for First Year Experience, General Education, & Retention Strategies, Southern New Hampshire University
James K. Winfield, Ed.D. (he/him/his) serves as the associate dean for first-year experience, general education, and retention strategies at Southern New Hampshire University’s Global Campus. His portfolio includes the implementation of holistic strategies and programs to improve the communication, orientation, and retention efforts for first-year students along with developing policies and processes that support the general education experience of global campus students. Winfield, a proud first-gen student and advocate, previously served as the inaugural director of student retention at Benedict College, where he led the implementation of centralized peer tutoring, first-year programs, and academic recovery efforts. Prior to that, he worked at the University of South Carolina, Columbia (UofSC) where he served in various roles with University 101 Programs (first-year seminar), Student Success Center (academic support), and TRIO Programs.
Winfield also serves as an adjunct faculty member for Messiah University’s master of higher education program. He has been actively involved with NASPA and the Center for First-generation Student Success–currently serving on the Center Advocacy Group and as a co-chair and founding member of the Black First-gen Collective.
Winfield has extensive experience in first-year programs, specifically facilitating first-year seminars, teaching, designing curriculum, and leading faculty development. He has launched, developed, and managed early alert mechanisms to improve faculty and student expectations. His dissertation focused on the career self-efficacy and academic major decisions of low-income, first-generation college students in a TRIO SSS program.
He earned his Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of South Carolina, an M.Ed. in higher education administration, and B.A. in mass communication from Auburn University. James is a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and enjoys painting and drawing.
Speaker Travels From
Dallas, Texas
James is available for in-person and virtual engagements! Contact us today.
Speaker Topics
| Building Career Self-Efficacy Among First-gen Students
As first-gen students navigate the landscape of college, they are also confronted with being employable for aspired careers. This session will highlight perspectives and strategies to support them in their majors and careers. | Building Your Stakeholders for Your First-gen Initiatives
As efforts to support first-gen students emerge and grow across the country, it is essential to identify allies and key players to sustain or elevate programs. This session will provide techniques and practices to build your team of first-gen advocates and allies. |
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| First-gen in the First-Year
The first-year of college can be filled with excitement, challenge, and triumph. When combined with the first-gen identity, these events can manifest differently. This session frames relevant experiences with best practices to inform approaches to better support first-gen students. | For the Students
James is open to customizing presentations and workshops to meet the diverse needs of your students. |
Books, News, & Media
Select Published Articles
- Winfield, J. K. (2022). Trio Works: Examing the Career Self-Efficacy of TRIO-SSS Students. Opportunity Matters: Journal of Access and Opportunity in Education. Volume 4 (pp. 102-125).
- Lyn, J. S. & Winfield, J. K. (2022). The heavy LIFT: An approach to retention for HBCUs. In The Elevation of Advising as a Promising Practice, Recalibrating Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Across Higher Education, Volume 2021, 195-196, (pp. 77-89).
- Friedman, D., Winfield, J., & Hopkins, K. (2019). Developing instructors for a first-year seminar. Journal for Faculty Development, 33(2), (pp. 11-18).
- Dial, M., & Winfield, J. (2016). Digitally connecting students to success: Engaging first-year students through intrusive email outreach. E-Source for College Transitions, 13(2).
- Moschella, E., Bouknight, J., Dial M., & Winfield, J. (2015). Connecting students to success: A comprehensive approach to retention and persistence. In S. Whalen (Ed.), Proceedings of the 11th National Symposium on Student RetentionOrlando, FL. (pp. 160-171). Norman, OK: The University of Oklahoma.
Media
- Winfield, J.K. (2020, May). To sync or async: Considerations for access in virtual learning. eCampus News: Technology news for today’s higher-ed leader.
- Winfield, J.K. (2018, December). The art of intervention: Partnering with faculty for early academic alert. NACADA Academic Advising Today, 41(4).
Blogs
- Winfield, J. (2021, November). Supporting first-generation students. Southern New Hampshire University Academically Speaking, Blogs & News.
- Winfield, J. (2019, February). First-gen in the first-year seminar. Center for First-generation Student Success, News & Blogs.
More About The Speaker
View James K. Winfield's curriculum vitae here.
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