Dr. Cynthia Jackson Hammond is President of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). She has been a member of the higher education community for over 30 years and has held tenured and administrative positions in universities throughout various regions of the United States.

Prior to joining CHEA as President, Dr. Jackson Hammond served as President of Central State University in Ohio. She is a sought-after thought leader on accreditation, multicultural diversity, and inclusion. Her academic discipline is Education and Higher Education Administration. She is an ardent advocate for quality assurances and transparency in higher education and is committed to the advancement of college success, equity, and integrity in postsecondary education.

She received her Bachelor’s degree from Grambling State University, a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Louisiana in Monroe, and her Doctorate in Education from Grambling State University.

Joining us in this encore interview is Dr.Peter Wells, Chief of the Section for Higher Education at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, which is responsible for the overall coordination of the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs program. The Section’s other activities include: promoting quality enhancement and assurance mechanisms for higher education institutions (HEIs) and systems; the internationalization of higher education programs through the mobility of students and researchers facilitated by the five UNESCO Regional Recognitions of HE Qualifications; and the widening of access to quality HE and increasing of lifelong learning opportunities at HEIs through systematic approaches to ICT enabled learning (including open and distance learning, the promotion of MOOCs and Open Education resources).

Before taking on his role as Chief of Section at UNESCO, Wells was Director of Bucharest College (BPTC), Higher Education Programme Specialist at UNESCO, Academic supervisor at Higher Colleges of Technology, Lecturer at the Polish Open University, Special Education Consultant at the Council on Foreign Relations and Political Risk Analyst at Euler Hermes.

Wells holds a BA in European Studies from the University of Leicester, an MSc in International Relations and Affairs from Florida State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Quality Enhancement in Tertiary Education from the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu in Romania.

In this encore interview, Dean Hoke and Dr. Senthil Nathan interviewed Dr. Samantha Alvis, the Senior Advisor for Higher Education at the Center for Education in USAID/Washington. In this role, she provides technical support to field offices to design activities that engage higher education institutions or post-secondary student populations and works to advance higher education programming across sectors within the Agency.

Prior to joining USAID, Samantha was the Director for International Development and Programs at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), where she oversaw a number of projects and initiatives related to the comprehensive internationalization of APLU member campuses. She taught courses in communications and leadership and led study-abroad trips to Namibia and Costa Rica.

Samantha completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees in agricultural education at the University of Arizona and her Ph.D. in international agricultural development and agricultural communications from Texas A&M University. Her dissertation research focused on the benefits and challenges of higher education development assistance.