Melissa L. Rocco
Senior Lecturer of Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration
Program Coordinator, Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration
- Ph.D. in Higher Education, Student Affairs, and International Education Policy, University of Maryland
- M.A. in Higher Education & Student Affairs, The Ohio State University
- B.S. in Business Administration, The Ohio State University
BIO
At the core of Dr. Rocco’s work is her desire to help individuals identify, develop, and engage their capacity for change-making. Her research, teaching, and practice focus on the application of transformative and liberatory pedagogy to challenge dominant leadership narratives and center identity, equity, and justice in leadership education. She primarily teaches courses on leadership and identity, social action and change, learning and curriculum design, developmental theory, and practica in higher education.
Selected as a 2024 Diamond Honoree for ACPA: College Student Educators International, Dr. Rocco is recognized as leader who has made outstanding contributions to ACPA, student affairs and services, and higher education.
Dr. Rocco’s professional and scholarly contributions include roles as Faculty Associate and Director for the National Clearinghouse for Leadership Programs (NCLP), Impact Fellow with The Aspen Institute’s Leadership Development Index, and national representative to the Council for the Advancement of Standards (CAS) in Higher Education. She is also co-author of the National Leadership Education Research Agenda 2020-2025, issue editor and author for New Directions for Student Leadership, and contributor and reviewer for some of the most widely-used texts in graduate and undergraduate leadership education.
Prior to her faculty appointments, Dr. Rocco worked as a higher education administrator in functional areas including co-curricular leadership programs, student activities, academic advising, and fraternity and sorority life. She received her PhD in Higher Education, Student Affairs, and International Education Policy from the University of Maryland.
Courses
- EDHI 6890: Lab Experience in Education - Practica Internship
- EDHI 1120: Data Literacy to Promote Change
- EDHI 1110: Exploring Leadership & Identity
Publications
Awards and Achievements
- Diamond Honoree for ACPA: College Student Educators International (2024)
- Impact Fellow, The Aspen Institute (2022-2023)
- Global Classrooms Teaching Fellow, University of Maryland (2019-2023)
- International Alumna of Distinction, Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity & Foundation (2017)
- SPARC Research Award, College of Education, University of Maryland (2016)
- McEwen Research Award, College of Education, University of Maryland (2016)
- National Representative to The White House Summit on Sexual Assault Prevention, White House Council on Women and Girls, Administration of Vice President Joseph R. Biden (2016)
- Emerging Professional Award, Higher Education & Student Affairs, The Ohio State University (2013)
- Faculty/Staff Mentoring Award, Senior Class, The Ohio State University (2012)
Area(s) of expertise
- Leadership Education and Development
- Critical Perspectives of Leadership
- Transformative Pedagogy and Curriculum Design
- College Student Development
- Organizational Assessment and Change
Bio
At the core of Dr. Rocco’s work is her desire to help individuals identify, develop, and engage their capacity for change-making. Her research, teaching, and practice focus on the application of transformative and liberatory pedagogy to challenge dominant leadership narratives and center identity, equity, and justice in leadership education. She primarily teaches courses on leadership and identity, social action and change, learning and curriculum design, developmental theory, and practica in higher education.
Selected as a 2024 Diamond Honoree for ACPA: College Student Educators International, Dr. Rocco is recognized as leader who has made outstanding contributions to ACPA, student affairs and services, and higher education.
Dr. Rocco’s professional and scholarly contributions include roles as Faculty Associate and Director for the National Clearinghouse for Leadership Programs (NCLP), Impact Fellow with The Aspen Institute’s Leadership Development Index, and national representative to the Council for the Advancement of Standards (CAS) in Higher Education. She is also co-author of the National Leadership Education Research Agenda 2020-2025, issue editor and author for New Directions for Student Leadership, and contributor and reviewer for some of the most widely-used texts in graduate and undergraduate leadership education.
Prior to her faculty appointments, Dr. Rocco worked as a higher education administrator in functional areas including co-curricular leadership programs, student activities, academic advising, and fraternity and sorority life. She received her PhD in Higher Education, Student Affairs, and International Education Policy from the University of Maryland.
Courses
- EDHI 6890: Lab Experience in Education - Practica Internship
- EDHI 1120: Data Literacy to Promote Change
- EDHI 1110: Exploring Leadership & Identity
Publications
Awards and Achievements
- Diamond Honoree for ACPA: College Student Educators International (2024)
- Impact Fellow, The Aspen Institute (2022-2023)
- Global Classrooms Teaching Fellow, University of Maryland (2019-2023)
- International Alumna of Distinction, Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity & Foundation (2017)
- SPARC Research Award, College of Education, University of Maryland (2016)
- McEwen Research Award, College of Education, University of Maryland (2016)
- National Representative to The White House Summit on Sexual Assault Prevention, White House Council on Women and Girls, Administration of Vice President Joseph R. Biden (2016)
- Emerging Professional Award, Higher Education & Student Affairs, The Ohio State University (2013)
- Faculty/Staff Mentoring Award, Senior Class, The Ohio State University (2012)
Areas of Expertise
- Leadership Education and Development
- Critical Perspectives of Leadership
- Transformative Pedagogy and Curriculum Design
- College Student Development
- Organizational Assessment and Change