Sarah and Caitlyn are still hard at work on Season 3 of the podcast. In the meantime, we’re revisiting this season 1 episode with Dr. Cecilia Orphan, Associate Professor of Higher Education at the University of Denver, and Director of Partnerships for the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges (ARRC). We talked about Regional Public Universities and Rural-Serving Institutions and why these sectors of higher education are important.
About our guest: Dr. Cecilia M. Orphan is a working class, first-generation college graduate who received maximum Pell grants to attend college. As a child, she experienced homelessness and was a welfare recipient. She is personally familiar with the transformative nature of need based financial aid and colleges designed to expand access after attending Linn Benton Community College, a Rural-Serving Institution (RSI), and Portland State University, a Regional Public University (RPU). Simply put, attending these colleges changed her life. She has devoted my career to expanding understanding of and appreciation for RPUs and RSIs so that other students might enjoy the same opportunities she had, and so that higher education’s contributions to equity and democracy are strengthened. Dr. Orphan is committed to bringing broader exposure and understanding to RPUs and RSIs and improve research, funding, policy, and media coverage of these sectors.
--
Thanks for listening to this episode of Mile Higher Ed. Mile Higher Ed is produced within the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver by Dr. Sarah Hurtado and Caitlyn Potter Glaser. Our theme music is “Summer” by Liborio Conti.
Are you interested in a master’s or doctoral degree in higher education? You could start as early as January 2026. Ready to start the conversation? Use this link to request information. Ready to apply? Complete the admissions application here.
Follow our podcast on Instagram at milehigheredpodcast. Follow Morgridge College of Education at MorgridgeatDU.
Keep up the good work everyone. See you next time!
