Dr. Karnell “Dr.K” McConnell-Black (he/him) is the vice president for student life at Reed College in Portland, OR. He has over 15+ years of experience in higher education. Karnell has a bachelor’s degree in communication, a master’s in education, and a doctorate in education. He has served in a variety of professional roles, including coordinator of orientation and first-year programs at Loyola University Chicago; director of student involvement, leadership, and orientation; and vice president of student affairs and dean of students at Westminster College. He also served as the president of the Association of Orientation, Transition, and Retention in Higher Education (NODA). Karnell is the current chair of the NASPA 2023 Western Regional Conference and is also a senior impact fellow with the Aspen Institute.
Karnell’s professional philosophy is guided by an inclusive excellence praxis that centers the student experience as fundamental in defining the success of the institution (Kuh et al., 2005). As a result, he brings a focus to how senior-level administrators balance the market needs of institutional sustainability and the impact of student-centric measures that enhance a student’s ability to navigate the world post-college. Additionally, he illuminates the meaning-making processes that underserved students engage in when navigating non-academic elements of college (i.e. outside of class college experiences).
