About Me
Michael L. Tidwell (he/him/his) is a doctoral student in the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia. Broadly, Michael is interested in promoting equity in graduate education, especially in the early phases (i.e., aspiration, application, admission, and enrollment) of getting to graduate-level programs. Additionally, he is interested in understanding how higher education institutions make data-driven and/or evidence-based decisions to promote equitable outcomes across higher education.
Currently, he is a graduate assistant in the University of Georgia's Office of Enrollment Management under the supervision of Dr. Andy Borst. In this role, Michael supports the development and uptake of student success dashboards. Previously, Michael was a Graduate Assistant at the Carl Vinson Institute of Government in the Survey Research and Evaluation Support Division. In this role, he assisted Vinson Institute clients with survey research (e.g., project design, data collection, contributing to reports, etc.).
As an intern at the Institute for Higher Education Policy, Michael supported the Equitable College Admissions and Data & Transparency pillars of IHEP's mission. He published blogs about direct admissions policies and the importance of clearly defining first-generation college students. His work in this area
At Clemson University, he was involved in several NSF-funded projects that contributed to an understanding of how Black engineering students selected between HBCUs and PWIs, how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted aviation maintenance technology education, and how the driving workforce perceives and is adapting to autonomous vehicles.
His work with these teams and others has been published in journals including Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, Journal of Experimental Criminology, and Technology in Society.
During his time at Clemson, Michael was also a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice. Additionally, Michael has served as a seasonal admissions reader at the University of Colorado at Boulder since 2021, reading for competitive university scholarships and the selective College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
At Valdosta State, as his interests in higher education were brewing, Michael served as a resident assistant and English writing tutor, President of the Rho Epsilon Chapter of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc., and President/Lead Organizer of TEDxValdostaState 2020.
Michael is a proud product and proponent of public education and a Tiger and Blazer alum, holding a Master of Science in Social Science from Clemson University ('23) and a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (Sociology & Public Administration) from Valdosta State University ('21, Cum Laude).
Outside of his professional pursuits, Michael enjoys all things aviation and space related (is an Airbus evangelizer!); spending time with his partner, family, and friends; and flying to new places for new experiences.
Keep in touch on X and LinkedIn. Michael also hosts an updated CV on this site.
