Director of Program Review and Effectiveness for the Graduate School
Clemson University
Former Assistant Director of the National Dropout Prevention Center
Ms. Withington holds an M.A. in Economics from the University of South Carolina, specializing in the economics of human capital and education; and a B.A. in English from the College of Charleston. Her professional work has focused on the educational pipeline, supporting students and teachers/faculty for success, as well as process and program efficiency and improvement. She was employed by the National Dropout Prevention Center in 2006, beginning as a Research Assistant then later as Assistant Academic Director for Research, Evaluation, and Public Relations. During that time, she was a grant writer, researcher, and evaluator, and she oversaw Web resources and public relations for the Center. She was also a key investigator on two major studies by the Center: one involving research on career-focused education, “A Longitudinal Study of the South Carolina Personal Pathways to Success Initiative,” and the other focused on dropout prevention strategies, “A Meta-Analysis of Dropout Prevention Outcomes and Strategies.” Her current work as Director of Program Review and Effectiveness for the Graduate School at Clemson University, Clemson, SC, continues a career focused on educational program improvement and support for enhanced quality benefiting both educators and students.