Dr. Joseph (Joey) Kitchen, Associate Research Professor at the Pullias Center for Higher Education and the USC Rossier School of Education, has been selected as the editor for the Journal of the First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, a semi-annual journal published by the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition at the University of South Carolina’s flagship campus in Columbia, SC.
Dr. Kitchen is a highly-regarded researcher and scholar who currently serves as Co-Investigator on the Pullias Center’s Promoting At-promise Student Success (PASS) project. He joins the Journal with a wealth of knowledge about student success in postsecondary institutions, with a special focus on college student transitions, career development and advising, and sense of belonging.
Dr. Kitchen joins an esteemed group of editors for the publication, which has been sharing insights and research focused on college student transitions and success since 1989.
“I am delighted to welcome Dr. Joseph Kitchen as our new Editor. He is a nationally-recognized scholar whose quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods research advances understanding of college transition, outreach and support programs,” noted Kate J. Lehman, Executive Director of the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. “Under his editorial leadership, the Journal will continue to elevate high-quality research that informs and transforms how institutions support students as they navigate the critical transitions of college life.”
The Journal of the First-Year Experience & Students in Transition invites applications to serve on its Editorial Review Board by December 4, 2025; qualifications and application details are available here. The Journal especially welcomes applicants with strong quantitative and/or mixed methods expertise. The Journal also welcomes new manuscript submissions that advance research on the first-year experience, student transitions throughout the college journey, and student success; submission guidelines can be found here.
"I am honored to be selected as the next Journal editor and look forward to partnering with our dedicated reviewers and contributors to advance impactful scholarship and steward this indispensable resource for scholars and practitioners," noted Dr. Kitchen.
Dr. Adrianna Kezar, Co-director of the Pullias Center, noted, “This appointment acknowledges Dr. Kitchen‘s research expertise in college access and transition. It also demonstrates his prolific methodological knowledge. We could not be happier for him.”
Joseph A. Kitchen is an associate research professor at the USC Rossier Pullias Center for Higher Education, the premiere higher education research center focused on student access and success. Dr. Kitchen conducts quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods research, and his research agenda spans several areas, with a central focus on the role of college transition, outreach, and support programs and interventions in promoting college success among first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students. He is committed to translating his research to inform policies and practices that promote college student success.
Following postdoctoral scholar appointments with Harvard University and the USC Pullias Center, Dr. Kitchen served as an assistant professor of higher education at the University of Miami before rejoining the Pullias Center in 2021. He received his B.A. (Psychology) and M.A. (City and Regional Planning) from The Ohio State University, as well as his Ph.D. in Educational Policy & Leadership-Higher Education.
First published in 1989, the Journal of The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition is a semiannual refereed journal providing current research on the first college year and other significant student transitions. The primary purpose of the Journal is to disseminate empirical research findings on student transition issues that inform practice in all sectors of postsecondary education, such as explorations into the academic, personal, and social experiences (including outcomes related to success, learning, and development) of students at a range of transition points throughout the college years; transition issues unique to specific populations (e.g., non-traditional, traditional, historically underrepresented students, transfer students, commuters, part-time students); and explorations of faculty development, curriculum, and pedagogical innovations connected to college transitions.
The world’s leading research center on student access and success in higher education, the Pullias Center for Higher Education advances equity in higher education and provides innovative, scalable solutions to both improve college access and outcomes for underserved students and to enhance the performance of postsecondary institutions. The Pullias Center is located within the USC Rossier School of Education.
