Katherine  Lebioda

A photo of Katherine  Lebioda

Assistant Professor

Leadership and Counseling

304X Porter

734.487.0255

[email protected]

Education

● PhD, Higher Education, University of Michigan
● MA, Higher Education Administration, The George Washington University
● BA, American Culture, University of Michigan

Biography

Dr. Lebioda (she/her) is an Assistant Professor at Eastern Michigan University in the Educational Leadership program, where her research focuses on the nexus between structures and individuals, marginalized people’s strategies of survivance, and how we can enact more
humanizing education systems. She is drawn to collaborative, community-based, and creative endeavors, and her dissertation was a participatory action research study where racially minoritized students created digital stories about their experiences with diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus.

Dr. Lebioda has experience in several research methodologies, both qualitative and quantitative, including a critical geography study of the landscape of four-year institutions in Michigan and geography's association with transfer rates; a web scan of how colleges and
universities convey their developmental education policies to students via their websites; and an interview study of how college admissions officers perpetuate inequality in their interactions with low-income high schools. She is currently working on several on-going projects, including a photo-elicitation study that promotes conversation between alumni and current students about their university's history with race, racism, and anti-racism; and a multi-method study about students' experiences in required diversity courses.

Born and raised in southeast Michigan, Dr. Lebioda has enjoyed returning to her hometown after several years living and working in Washington, D.C. and Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Prior to beginning her Ph.D. in Higher Education at the University of Michigan, Dr. Lebioda had nearly a decade of professional experience, predominately as a higher education practitioner. Her higher education background includes previously working as a research and policy analyst for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities; as a program coordinator and graduate admissions representative at The George Washington University; and as an undergraduate admissions counselor at the University of Michigan. She holds a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from The George Washington University and a bachelor's degree in American Culture from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Lebioda's hobbies include gardening, crafting, snacking, and board gaming, but most of her spare time is monopolized by her two (sweet, silly, and exhausting) kiddos.

Interests and Expertise

● Racially/ethnically minoritized students’ experiences at predominantly white institutions
● Marginalized students’ navigational strategies for postsecondary policy and practice
● Access and equity in higher education
● Arts-based methodologies (e.g., digital storytelling, photovoice, photo elicitation, and
mixed methods mapping)
● Community-based and participatory action research methods

Publications and Presentations

Select Publications

  • Rodríguez, A., Rodriguez-Wilhelm, D., Lebioda, K., Kapp, R., & Wilson, N. (2021). Skin in the game: A policy implementation study of how school-level bureaucrats set and rationalize Advanced Placement exam fees for low-income students. Research in Higher Education, 63(3), 369-399. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-021-09652-w
  • Rodríguez, A., Lebioda, K., Skiles, J., & Bhindiganavile, B. (2022). The role of rigorous coursework in admissions and enacting equitable practice. In O. A. Poon & M. N. Bastedo (Eds.), Rethinking college admissions: Research-based practice and policy. Harvard Education Press.

Select Presentations

  • “Doing ‘With’ in Participatory Research,” MLK Symposium King Talks Speaker, University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School, 2024 (https://youtu.be/rLPvlRqanjE)
  • “Conscious (un)bias? Racialized teacher assessments of students into AP English,” The Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar, University of Michigan, 2023
  • “Blossoming Together: Imagining New Relationships between Racially/Ethnically Minoritized Students and Postsecondary Institutions through Digital Storytelling," Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference, 2023
  • “Examining Relationships between Diversity Course Designations and Classroom Composition,” Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference, 2023
  • “’Erased from the discussion’: The positioning of Asian(American) graduate students in STEM diversity discourse,” Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference, 2023
  • “Completing the turn: Utilizing portraiture in participatory digital storytelling research,” 11 th International Digital Storytelling Conference, 2023
  • “Mixed signals: How colleges perpetuate misconceptions about Advanced Placement course-taking during high school visits,” Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference, 2021
  • “Travel to transfer: Examining the role of distance in community college students’ patterns of transfer to a four-year institution,” Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference, 2021