Adrienne Provost

Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction

Adrienne Provost is an educational researcher and higher education administrator whose work examines the historical, ideological, and policy contexts shaping student success, with particular attention to transfer pathways in postsecondary education.

Her scholarship explores how mid‑twentieth‑century humanistic education shaped the community college movement and examines the enduring relevance of these ideas for contemporary questions of curriculum, institutional collaboration, STEM education, and civil discourse. She publishes in both scholarly and practitioner-oriented venues, translating theoretical insights into practices that inform program design and student support.

At the University of Florida, she leads transfer-focused initiatives, including bridge programs and institutional partnerships that strengthen articulation pathways. She also teaches a course that supports cross-college navigation, academic engagement, and the ethical use of artificial intelligence.

Dr. Provost curates the Terry O’Banion Papers, an archival collection centered on the life and work of one of the most influential thinkers in the community college movement. O’Banion’s scholarship advanced a student-centered vision of higher education grounded in access, teaching, and institutional responsibility. The archive brings together correspondence, manuscripts, speeches, and institutional records that document both the development of his ideas and their broader impact on the field. By preserving and organizing these materials, the collection supports research on the evolution of community colleges and sustains engagement with the movement’s humanistic commitments among contemporary scholars and practitioners.

curriculum vitae

Research Interests

Community Colleges, Humanistic Education, Discourse Tracing, Higher Education, Teaching and Learning, and Discourse-Historical Analysis

Publications

McCammon, J., & Provost, A. L. (2026). Bridging the transfer pipeline: A three touch points model for cross-campus peer collaboration, belonging, and digital fluency. Insights for College Transitions, 21(2).
Provost, A. L., Traum, M. J., Kohnen, A. M., Cothren, T. J., Diaz, C., Garcia, J. L., & Yawn, J. (2026). Bridging the divide: Addressing barriers to cross-institutional collaboration through the TRAVE framework. League for Innovation in the Community College.
Traum, M. J., Provost, A. L., Brixius, S. L., Peralta Gomez, A. E., Tran, J., Liberado, E. V., Gaikwad, D., Yawn, J., Angulo, J., Peterson, E., & Wilburt, E. (2026, January 12). iVelas unites disciplines across borders: Rocket altimeter design via US–Brazil virtual exchange in a liberal arts–infused engineering bridge for transfer students. AIAA SCITECH 2026 Forum, Orlando, FL. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2026-0274
Provost, A. L. (2024). Community College Social Media Public Scholars: Reframing the Narrative from the Inside Out. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2024.2428270
Provost, A. L. (2024). Social media public scholars: Reframing the narrative from the inside out. League for Innovation in the Community College.
Traum, M. J., Jones, T. J., Doher, J. A., K. R. Gurley, J. A., Provost, A. L., Mella‑Alcázar, A. A., & Angulo, L. (2024). Virtual exchange embedded in a STEM summer camp improved American high school students’ awareness of Filipino culture. Proceedings of the ASEE Southeastern Section Conference, 10–12.
Provost, A. (2023). Digging in the Wrong Place : Tracing Discursive Artifacts of Humanistic Education in the Community College (University of Florida). University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla. https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UFE0059307/00001
Provost, A. (2023). Cooling out vs. warming up: History of the debate. NACADA Review, 4(1), 16–26.
Traum, M., Provost, A., Doher, J. (2022). STEMTank: Implementing an online engineering summer camp for underprivileged high school students in response to COVID-19. Opportunity Matters, 4, 86–101.
Provost, A. L., Traum, M. (in press). Valuing failure: Successful experiential STEM learning projects boost self-confidence while failure improves grit. Mindset Pathways to STEM Success: A Compilation of Tools and Strategies for Higher Education to Boost Learning in STEM.
Provost, A. L., Kohnen, A. M. (2022). “Why so many words?” Students’ perspectives on college access and success terminology. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/19496591.2022.2056475
Provost, A. L., Kohnen, A. M. (2022). A full spectrum of interpretation: A discourse-historical analysis of one community college’s mission statement, Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 46:5, 318-334. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2020.1841690

Awards and Recognition

Terry O’Banion Legacy Award, League for Innovation in the Community College (2024)
K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award Finalist, American Association of Colleges and Universities (2023)
Advocacy Leadership Award, Division of Student Affairs, Santa Fe College (2022)
Next Level Leadership Graduate, Association of Florida Colleges (2022)
Exemplary Practice Award, Student Development Commission, Association of Florida Colleges (2020)
Workforce, Adult and Continuing Education Commission Award, Association of Florida Colleges (2020)
Innovation Award, Division of Student Affairs, Santa Fe College (2020)
Robert B. Primack Memorial Foundations of Education Endowment, University of Florida (2017)
Certified College Professional, Association of Florida Colleges (2016)
Teacher of the Year, Williston Middle School (2012)
“Chappie” James Most Promising Teacher‑Scholar, University of South Florida (1992–1994)

Interactive Timeline

This timeline traces overlapping micro-, meso-, and macro- discursive themes related to community colleges and higher education across the economic, political, and social landscape of the mid-20th century. The overview details the shift from humanistic to neoliberal ideology that occurred in the late 1970s.

Courses

IDS 3003 Transfer Success Seminar
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

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