Staff

Salina Kopellas has been with the Center since its founding. She manages the Center’s grants and database, and facilitates the editing and dissemination of International Higher Education. Prior to joining the Center, she worked as the administrative secretary to the dean of the Lynch School of Education and Human Development.

Ayu is CIHE doctoral graduate of class 2020 and currently research associate for CIHE. His broad research interest in higher education in low and middle income countries includes higher education partnerships, diaspora engagement in research and academia, internationalization of higher education, higher education and development,  and policy and governance in higher education. CIHE projects he is currently working on include:

• African Diaspora organizations in the US and their support for higher education in Africa
• Higher education and the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-national perspectives on the challenges and management of higher education in crisis times
• Higher Education Forum for Africa, Asia and Latina America (HEFAALA) - Academic Collaboration in Africa, Asia and Latin America in the Post- COVID World
  

Jean Baptiste Diatta is a doctoral candidate in the Boston College Higher Education program. His research interests include higher education leadership and administration in connection with assessment, as well as institutional learning outcomes design. Jean Baptiste worked as a Registrar for the Jesuit University Institute named CERAP (Centre de Recherche et d’Action pour la Paix) in Côte d’Ivoire. He also served as the chairperson of the institute Assessment Committee.

He earned a master’s degree in Higher Education from Boston College. Before entering the field of Higher Education, he earned a master's degree in philosophy from Faculté de Philosophie Saint Pierre Canisius de Kimwenza.

Tessa is a Ph.D. student and research assistant at the Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College. Her research interests include philosophy and theory of higher education, considering the idea of the university, pluralism, international research collaboration, and global public good theory as bases for ethical analysis and practice in international higher education and the internationalization of research.

Tessa received a master's degree in Higher Education with a concentration in Spirituality, Faith, and Formation, and a certificate in International Higher Education from Boston College.

Lizhou Wang is a doctoral student in the Boston College's Higher Education program. Her research interests include international student mobility and recruitment, cross-cultural teaching and learning, and the internationalization of higher education.

Lizhou grew up in Hunan, China. She received her B.A. in economics and government from Smith College, MSc from the University of Oxford, and Ed.M. in International Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Maia Gelashvili is a doctoral student in the Boston College Higher Education program. Her research interests include international higher education focusing on college teaching, assessing student learning, and improving the quality of teaching and learning at universities.

Maia received a master's degree in Higher Education from Columbia University, Teachers College, and her B.A. and M.A. in American Studies at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University.

Victoria DiSalvo is a first-year M.A student in the International Higher Education program at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development. She started her career at UMass Amherst where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. Victoria began working with the Oxford Summer Seminar, a study abroad program, during her third year at UMass Amherst. After graduating, she continued working with the Oxford Summer Seminar while completing a graduate certificate in Higher Education Leadership and Administration.

Victoria is interested in utilizing her master's degree to work in the study abroad industry and is hoping to pursue a Ph.D. in the future!