The Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP) is pleased to welcome its new governing board chair, Dr. Alan Tinkler, associate professor of English, Missouri State University. Additionally, SHECP has elected two new members to the board, Allison Goetcheus, director of civic engagement at Manchester University, and Mindy Wilson, associate director of the Center for Career & Professional Development at Centre College.
Dr. Alan Tinkler, SHECP Board Chair, Missouri State University
“As board chair, I am excited to contribute my efforts to advance the vision of SHECP which is to expand and improve opportunities to study the meanings, causes, and consequences of poverty in a wide range of disciplines,” said Tinkler, who had served as vice chair over the past year.
Tinkler’s association with SHECP began at the University of Vermont where he was an associate professor in the Department of Education. This summer he accepted a faculty appointment at Missouri State that allows him to continue to focus his attention on community-engaged pedagogy at an institution that enjoys a robust public affairs mission.
Goetcheus and Wilson were elected by the SHECP Council, which is composed of leaders representing member institutions and at-large members who bring a combination of experience and or expertise to the consortium. SHECP is a collaboration among 26 colleges and universities that integrates classroom study of poverty with summer internships and co-curricular activities.
Allison Goetcheus, SHECP Board, Manchester University
Goetcheus helped launch Manchester’s participation in SHECP in 2018. Prior to her time with the university, Goetcheus spent 12 years working in the child welfare field, helping service providers reunite families and building a lasting support system. Her passion for helping underserved and vulnerable communities allowed her to transition to Manchester where she has worked tirelessly to develop and advance theAcorns to make volunteering more accessible, appealing, and accommodating to students of all backgrounds.
“I am excited to take purposeful action by joining the board, as we continue to build knowledge and responsibility throughout the consortium and beyond in this work,” Goetcheus said.
Wilson has overseen Centre College’s internship program for the past 15 years. Additionally, she provides comprehensive career counseling to humanities students and alumni. She has acted as the co-chair of Centre’s SHECP committee since the partnership began in 2013 and serves on the college’s social justice minor committee. She earned her bachelor’s degree in literature and Spanish at Point Loma Nazarene University and her master’s degree in comparative literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Mindy Wilson, SHECP Board Secretary, Centre College
“Over the years that Centre has partnered with SHECP, I’ve had the opportunity to see our students learn and have learned about poverty myself,” said Wilson. “I’ve been impressed by the dedication of the consortium schools’ faculty and staff, and am excited to join the governing board to not only contribute more fully to the consortium, but also to continue to be inspired by my colleagues’ efforts in alleviating poverty.”
In addition to the new appointments, the SHECP Council elected Dr. Brian Doyle, Marymount University, to serve as vice chair; and Wilson, as secretary. Outgoing chair, Dr. Louwanda Evans, Millsaps College, will continue to serve on the board as past chair.
Dr. Brian Doyle, SHECP Board Vice Chair, Marymount University
“It’s been a pleasure to represent and encourage Marymount University’s active participation and support of SHECP,” said Doyle. “As vice chair, I look forward to building upon the consortium’s successes and furthering our efforts to engage students in service to others.”
SHECP would like to thank departing governing board members, past-chair Dr. Rebecca Todd Peters, Elon University, and Dr. Connie Snyder Mick, University of Notre Dame, for their leadership and commitment during their tenures. Both will continue to serve on the SHECP Council.
To learn more about SHECP and how you can support its mission to transform poverty studies, visit shepherdconsortium.org.
About the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty: The Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP), is a consortium of colleges and universities that are committed to the study of poverty as a complex social problem, by expanding and improving educational opportunities for college students in a wide range of disciplines and career trajectories. SHECP institutions support undergraduates toward a lifetime of professional and civil efforts to diminish poverty and enhance human capability. For more information, please visit ShepherdConsortium.org, or follow us on Twitter at @TheSHECP.