Ty McNamee

Assistant Professor

Dr. Ty C. McNamee is an Assistant Professor of Educational Policy Studies & Evaluation, as well as Research Associate in the Office of Higher Education Research, at the University of Kentucky. He also is a Research Fellow and Co-PI at the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges (ARRC), specifically supporting the Rural Talent Development and Attraction Lab.

Growing up as a gay, poor, and working-class student on a farm/ranch in rural Wyoming greatly influenced Ty’s research interests. He uses critical, sociological, and anthropological lenses to conduct research on higher education access, success, and equity for rural students, particularly those from poor and working-class backgrounds and those who are queer, as well as college teaching and learning and faculty development at rural postsecondary institutions. His research has been funded by national organizations, such as the Ascendium Foundation, the ECMC Foundation, College Student Educators International (ACPA), the Association for Orientation, Transition, and Retention in Higher Education (NODA), and the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students. This scholarship has been featured in The Journal of Higher Education, Peabody Journal of Education, New Directions for Student Services, Journal of Education Human Resources, Journal of Queer and Trans Studies

in Education, and Journal of Research in Rural Education, as well as his book The Cultural Journeys of Rural, Poor and Working-Class College Students: Policy and Practice to Support Degree Attainment through Routledge.

Related to his scholarly interests, Ty co-founded and ran the Rural Education and Healthcare Coalition, a Teachers College, Columbia University student, faculty, and staff network focused on rural education and healthcare programming and research. He also actively serves in professional organizations, including the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA), and College Student Educators International (ACPA).

Ty received his doctorate in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University in 2022, where his dissertation—winner of the AERA Division J Dissertation of the Year Award—focused on rural, poor and working-class students’ cultural experiences on higher education campuses. Prior to Teachers College, Ty earned his Master of Arts in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the University of Connecticut in 2015, and his Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Wyoming in 2013. He also completed in 2022 a Graduate Teaching Certificate from Colorado State University.

Outside of work, Ty loves to hang with his dog Luke, spend time with family and friends, watch TV/movies (talk to him about 90s/00s sitcoms!), eat lots of good food, travel, go to the gym, and read for pleasure when he can!