Amelia Parnell is vice president for research and policy. She directs the Research and Policy Institute (RPI), which links research, policy, and effective student affairs practice in support of student success. Amelia is leading NASPA’s examination of several critical higher education issues, including colleges’ use of emergency aid programs to address student needs. Prior to her arrival at NASPA, Amelia was director of research initiatives at the Association for Institutional Research (AIR), where she conducted two national studies related to future directions of the institutional research function. Her current research portfolio also includes studies on leadership attributes of college presidents and vice presidents, documenting and assessing co-curricular learning, and assessment and evaluation in student affairs. 

Amelia is co-editor of the forthcoming book, The Analytics Revolution. She is an advisory board member for the DC Public Schools’ Urban Education Leaders Internship Program Alumni Board and an advisory committee member for Lumina Foundation’s Beyond Financial Aid toolkit. Amelia holds a Ph.D. in higher education from Florida State University and masters and bachelor’s degrees in business administration from Florida A&M University.