January 13, 2026
Economic and workforce development, college affordability, top policy priorities for 2026
State higher education leaders across the country are balancing a wide array of policy priorities and concerns going into 2026. The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) asked its members to identify their top policy issues for the new year in a survey distributed to chief executive officers in November 2025. States face a multitude of higher education policy issues, with some topics consistently among the top priorities each…
Read moreDecember 4, 2025
SHEEO welcomes Mayfield as new Senior Policy Analyst
The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) welcomed Dr. Stephen Mayfield to the team earlier this week. In his role as Senior Policy Analyst, Dr. Mayfield will focus on supporting SHEEO's research and policy initiatives, with a focus on state postsecondary data systems, noncredit mobility, and student basic needs. Dr. Mayfield most recently served as a Research Education Analyst at RTI International, where he worked on analytic tasks for the U. S.…
Read moreJuly 15, 2025
SHEEO Announces 2025 Excellence Awards Recipients
Alabama, New Jersey, Tennessee recognized WASHINGTON – The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) is pleased to announce recipients of the 2025 SHEEO Excellence Awards. The awards recognize the leadership, dedication, and innovation of exceptional SHEEOs, agency staff, and agencies at a time when state postsecondary policy is increasingly linked to student success, social mobility, and states’ workforce and economic prosperity. The Exceptional Leader Award recipient is Jim Purcell, Executive…
Read moreJuly 8, 2025
SHEEO welcomes Gheesling as new Associate Vice President
The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) is pleased to welcome Dr. Corey Gheesling to the team. In his role as Associate Vice President, Dr. Gheesling will focus on building SHEEO’s workforce development portfolio to complement and engage state higher education agencies in their continued efforts to meet economic and workforce demands. With a distinguished career in higher education policy and practice, Dr. Gheesling brings expertise in aligning academic systems with…
Read moreMay 29, 2025
SHEEO welcomes McGuire and Castrejón as State Policy Interns
The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) is pleased to welcome Adalberto “Beto” Castrejón and Lauren McGuire as State Policy Interns this summer. Over the next few months, Beto will support SHEEO’s Examining Funding Models for Unintentional Disparities project, including synthesizing curated equitable funding research for state policymakers and highlighting actionable steps SHEEO agencies can take toward analyzing existing higher education funding structures. Lauren will support SHEEO’s Strong Foundations project, where…
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