Ashlee Spearman Named First VP Of Student Success and Engagement At Minority-Serving WPU In Portland
Warner Pacific University (WPU) welcomes Ashlee Spearman, Ph.D. to lead its new Student Success and Engagement department. Her first day at Warner Pacific was June 1, 2021.
“Ashlee Spearman is an advocate for students and a change agent in higher education,” said WPU President Brian L. Johnson, Ph.D. “We are doing the work to find the most talented people in the country for our students, growing diversity in key leadership positions at the university,” he said.
Dr. Spearman comes to WPU from Austin Peay State University in Tennessee where she served as the director of Student Transitions, director of the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)/Learning Opportunities Center and director of Academic Services and Engagement. Under her leadership, Austin Peay focused on the unique needs of first-generation and non-traditional students. She also developed a first year Learning Community for underrepresented populations, which led to an increase in retention rates and higher GPAs for these groups.
“A student’s success in college goes beyond the classroom and requires professionals to meet students where they are, and that is exactly what we will do at Warner Pacific,” she said.
Dr. Spearman earned her MS in Business Administration from Texas A&M University-Texarkana, and her Ed.D degree in Learning Organizations and Strategic Change from Lipscomb University in Nashville. She is a respected subject matter expert in student success, student leadership development, military and veteran student retention and success, learning communities and the Quality Enhancement Plan.