Elizabeth Rainey, Ed.D.

Elizabeth (Liz) Rainey joined the Fordham community in 2025 as the inaugural Vice Provost for Student Success. This role leads the university-wide strategy for retention, from developing a distinctive first-year experience with wrap-around support to readying students to pursue fulfilling careers. Under her leadership, Fordham brings together several areas that directly impact student retention, including academic records, the career center, international services, and the first-year experience. 

Liz has held administrative positions at New York University, Columbia University, and Loyola University New Orleans where she previously served as Assistant Provost for Student Success. A native New Yorker, Liz holds a B.A. from Georgetown University, an M.A. from New York University, an Ed.M. from Teachers College, Columbia University, and an Ed.D. from the University of Texas at Austin where her research focused on students’ experiences, retention outcomes, and financial aid policy. 

  • Buehler, P. &, Rainey, E. A. (2025). “Not the kind of student I am”: College students’ expression of agency in academic appeals. Journal of Thought. http://journalofthought.com/?p=1488 

    Rainey, E. A. & Taylor, Z. W. (in press, 2025). “Is it Fall yet?” Collaborative faculty experiences teaching at-risk college students during emergency online operations. Journal of Collaboration for Equitable Change. 

    Maldonado, A., Taylor, Z. W., Ziegler, P., Rainey, E., Carter, D., George, D., & Weber-Wandel, K (2024). Public Service Loan Forgiveness: A Historical Overview and Practical Implications for Higher Education Practitioners. Essays in Education, 30(2), 1-12. https://openriver.winona.edu/eie/vol30/iss2/4/

    Rainey, E. A., & Taylor, Z. W. (2024). “Is it bad I don’t know this yet?”: At-promise college students, financial aid knowledge, and retention. Higher Education Politics and Economics. https://ojed.org/hepe/article/view/6439  

    Velez, G. M., Herteen, M., Rainey, E., Nemanich, S. & Jessup-Anger, J. E. (2024). First-year college students’ meaning making of the pandemic’s effects on their academics. Journal of Adolescent Research, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/07435584241291584

    Rainey, E. A., & Taylor, Z. W. (2024). “The struggle bus is full.”: How college faculty interpreted and navigated institutional policy shifts amid COVID-19. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Leadership Studies. http://dx.doi.org/10.61186/johepal.5.1.52

    Demchuk, T., & Rainey, E. A. (2024). Hearing their stories: A phenomenological study in understanding Ed.D. completion. Texas Education Review. https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/51991 

    Rainey, E. A., & Taylor, Z. W. (2024). “I had no idea”: At-risk college student knowledge of financial aid and resources. Journal of Student Financial Aid, 53(2). https://doi.org/10.55504/0884-9153.1793

    Rainey, E. A., & Taylor, Z. W. (2023). “I feel like a bother”: COVID-era experiences of at-risk college students on academic probation and financial aid warning status. Journal of College Academic Support Programs, 6(1), 23-36. https://doi.org/10.58997/fa2   

    Rainey, E. A., & Taylor, Z. W. (2023). Communicating with college students during COVID-19: College student reflections on communication preferences and institutional best practices. Research Issues in Contemporary Education, 8(1), 102-137. http://www.leraweb.net/ojs/index.php/RICE/article/view/133 

    Rainey, E., & Taylor, Z. (2022). Reflecting on the brink: At-risk student experiences with online learning amid COVID-19. Journal of Postsecondary Student Success, 2(1), 25-53. https://doi.org/10.33009/fsop_jpss131398 

    Taylor, Z. W., Pereira, M., Rainey, E., Gururaj, S., Gibbs, B., Wiser, J., Benson, C., Childs, J., & Somers, P. (2022). Saying his name: How faith-based higher education leaders addressed the George Floyd murder. Religion and Education, 50(1), 39-69. https://doi.org/10.1080/15507394.2022.2156262

    Taylor, Z. W., Rainey, E. A., Charran, C., Holthaus, G., & Equiluz, L. (2022). Talk debt to me: An applied linguistics approach to exploring college student preferences for student loan debt letters. Journal of Student Financial Aid, 52(1), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.55504/0884-9153.1759