Published January 21, 2025
BY DANIELLE LEGARE
Sallee named chair of educational leadership and policy
Margaret W. Sallee, professor of higher education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, has been named chair of the department in the University at Buffalo's Graduate School of Education (GSE), effective January 2025.
Sallee is a distinguished gender and organizational scholar whose research focuses on the ways in which federal, state and institutional policy and norms shape the personal and professional lives of faculty, staff and students. Her recent scholarship centers on the experiences of student-mothers in U.S. higher education institutions as well as how faculty and staff navigate work norms in higher education.
"I am thrilled that Dr. Sallee will be the next chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy. As a scholar of higher education, Margaret is well-positioned to lead the department and help it achieve continued success. I also want to thank Dr. Nate Daun-Barnett, who has provided strong leadership as chair for the past six years," said GSE Dean and Professor Suzanne Rosenblith.
A faculty member at UB since 2011, Sallee has served in numerous leadership roles, including as coordinator of the higher education graduate programs and a member of the Gender Institute Executive Committee.
She is also an award-winning educator and mentor. Sallee received the Graduate School of Education STAR Award for Advising in 2019, the Maude A. Stewart Leadership Award from Ohio State University in 2021, and the UB Exceptional Scholar-Young Investigator Award in 2014.
A prolific author, Sallee has contributed extensively to the field, including her groundbreaking book "Faculty Fathers: Toward a New Ideal in the Research University." In addition, she edited the book "Creating Sustainable Careers in Student Affairs: What Ideal Worker Norms Get Wrong and How to Make it Right."
Sallee has also written numerous journal articles, such as "From Comprehensive Services to No Support at All: How Institutional Agents Shape Student-Mothers' Academic Success," co-authored with GSE higher education PhD alumna Danielle Lewis and GSE higher education PhD student Kristina Collier and published in The Journal of Higher Education.
Sallee's recent research grants further reflect her commitment to advancing knowledge and equity in higher education. She recently served as the principal investigator for "The Role of Institutional Support in Shaping Student-Mothers' Success in Higher Education," funded by the Jewish Foundation for Education of Women, and "The Impact of Federal COVID-19 Relief Policy on Low-Income Student-Mothers' Educational Choices and Experiences," funded by the Spencer Foundation.
She is also a sought-after speaker and workshop facilitator. Sallee delivered the keynote, "Centering Humanity in Higher Education: How We Got Here and How to Fix It," at the Conference of Higher Education Values, Identity, Belonging, and Purpose in February 2024. In addition, she has recently given talks at events hosted by the American Council on Education, California State University at San Bernardino, Kansas State University, Kean University and Texas Tech University.
In April 2024, her research team presented "'Mothers Are Forces to Be Reckoned With': Proposing an Asset-Based Model of Student-Mothers' Capital" at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association in Philadelphia.
In December 2024, Sallee concluded her role as a visiting professor at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
In her new role, Sallee aims to build on the department's tradition of excellence while advancing innovative research and promoting equity and inclusion in leadership and policy studies.
"I feel honored to be selected to be the next chair of ELP. I have big shoes to fill as Nate Daun-Barnett served as chair for over six years, getting us through the pandemic and beyond. I am looking forward to working alongside my fantastic and committed colleagues to continue to work toward transforming educational spaces into those that are more just and consider the needs of all learners and staff," she said.
Sallee earned her PhD in urban education with a focus on higher education from the University of Southern California, where she also received a graduate certificate in gender studies. She holds an MA in higher education and student affairs from The Ohio State University and a BA in English and French from UC Berkeley.
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