Elizabeth Rainey EdD
Assistant Provost
Education
EdD, The University of Texas at Austin, 2021
M.Ed., Columbia University, 2009
M.A., New York University, 2006
B.A., Georgetown University, 2000
Departments
- Academic Affairs
- Special Studies
- Student Success Center
Bio
Elizabeth (Liz) Rainey has 20 years of experience in higher education administration at three universities. As the Assistant Provost for Student Success at Loyola, Liz oversees more than 20 full-time staff and 50 employees in the Pan-American Life Student Success Center. In addition to leading university-wide efforts to improve retention and completion rates, Liz centralized campuswide student services by managing the renovation of an integrated space that now includes academic advising, accessible education, career development and student employment, success coaching, TRIO student support services, and tutoring. She successfully co-wrote the first federal TRIO grant for Loyola and brought in new funds to outfit virtual interview room space and technology. Liz is an InsideTrack-certified success coach and success coach trainer.
Liz is the department chair for special studies, which houses a number of credit-bearing success and transition classes for students, including a class for students on academic probation. She developed and teaches a first-year seminar course called, The College Multiverse, which aspires to teach students about the purpose, philosophy, and history of higher education. She leads the first-year experience committee, bringing together academic seminars, orientation and transition programs, and opportunities designed to ensure first-year students have a common journey that fosters a sense of belonging and mattering.
Liz was the first graduate of the executive doctorate program in higher education leadership at the University of Texas at Austin, where her research focused on students’ experiences, retention outcomes, and financial aid policy. She presents her research-based findings at national conferences, including the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA). She is a reviewer for the Journal of Student Financial Aid and the Journal of Postsecondary Student Success.
Prior to working at Loyola, Liz was an advising dean and adjunct reader for undergraduate admissions at Columbia University. She also worked in faculty support and admissions at New York University.
Publications
Rainey, E.A., & Taylor, Z.W. (in press, November 2023). “I had no idea”: At-risk college student knowledge of financial aid and resources. Journal of Student Financial Aid.
Rainey, E.A., & Taylor, Z.W. (2023). “I feel like a bother”: COVID-era experiences of at-risk college students on academic probation and financial aid warning status. Journal of College Academic Support Programs, 6(1), 23-36. http://doi.org/10.58997/fa2
Rainey, E.A., & Taylor, Z.W. (2023). Communicating with college students during COVID-19: College student reflections on communication preferences and institutional best practices. Research Issues in Contemporary Education, 8(1), 102-137. http://www.leraweb.net/ojs/index.php/RICE/article/view/133
Rainey, E., & Taylor, Z. (2022). Reflecting on the brink: At-risk student experiences with online learning amid COVID-19. Journal of Postsecondary Student Success, 2(1), 25-53. http://doi.org/10.33009/fsop_jpss131398
Taylor, Z.W., Pereira, M., Rainey, E., Gururaj, S., Gibbs, B., Wiser, J., Benson, C., Childs, J., & Somers, P. (2022). Saying his name: How faith-based higher education leaders addressed the George Floyd murder. Religion and Education, 50(1), 39-69. http://doi.org/10.1080/15507394.2022.2156262
Taylor, Z. W., Rainey, E.A., Charran, C., Holthaus, G., & Equiluz, L. (2022). Talk debt to me: An applied linguistics approach to exploring college student preferences for student loan debt letters. Journal of Student Financial Aid, 52(1), 1-27. http://doi.org/10.55504/0884-9153.1759
Activities
Students Working in College:
http://success.shorinji-kempo.net/studentsworking
Emerging from COVID-19:
http://www.marquette.edu/education/centers-and-clinics-research/emerging-from-covid-research.php