Heather D. Shea, Phd Email & Phone Number

Dr. Heather D. Shea (she/her) is dedicated to fostering critical hope and creating equitable and inclusive environments that support student success. With over two decades of experience in higher education student affairs across five campuses, Dr. Shea identifies as a generalist, having worked in various functional areas in higher education. Since 2013, Dr. Shea has worked as an administrator at Michigan State University, transitioning in August of 2024 to the role of Director of Pathway Programs in Undergraduate Education within the Office of the Provost. In this position, she oversees four cohort-based programs that focus on retention and student success in five key areas: Educational Success, Sense of Belonging, Community, Sense of Purpose, and Well-being. The MSU Pathway Programs—which include Detroit M.A.D.E, Dow STEM Scholars, First-Generation Leadership and Innovation (FLI) Vanderploeg Scholars, and TRIO Student Support Services—are instrumental in achieving MSU’s goal of closing opportunity gaps and reaching an 86% graduation rate by 2030.Previously, Dr. Shea served as the inaugural director of the Office of Women*s Student Services at MSU, where she advanced women and gender equity through an intersectional and anti-racist lens since 2019. She regularly teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses and leads a 6-credit education abroad program in Europe for teacher education students each summer. Additionally, she co-hosts the podcast Student Affairs NOW, offering a free professional development resource for those working in or adjacent to higher education and student affairs. Heather is currently completing her term as Past-President of ACPA–College Student Educators International. In 2012, she was honored as a Diamond Honoree by the ACPA Foundation. Dr. Shea earned her PhD from Michigan State University in 2019. Her research, which earned her the ACPA Burns R. Crookston Award, focuses on transformational student experiences, co-curricular learning, and feminist methodologies in higher education. As a single mother of a high school junior and a college sophomore, she is personally committed to creating environments where all students can learn, thrive, and graduate.

Listed skills include Higher Education, Student Affairs, Program Development, Leadership, and 24 others.