KENNESAW, Ga. | Mar 13, 2025

For the past year, a group of Kennesaw State University students have been synthesizing information from a multi-year study about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on female academics who are also mothers.

Led by professor of public administration Jennifer Purcell, the First-Year Scholars project is titled “Women@Work in Higher Education: Barriers and Opportunities for Current and Future Women Leaders,” and involves undergraduates Hannah Anderson, Kyndall Moore, Ana Luisa De Almeida Santos Onofre, and graduate research assistant Morgan Grant.

In late February, the students presented their findings at the Georgia Association for Women in Higher Education Conference, where they received positive feedback. The work focuses on the career trajectories of faculty members who balanced academic duties with motherhood during the pandemic.

“I’m incredibly impressed with the students, with their interest in taking this on,” Purcell said. “They are high achievers with impressive resumes already. This is one additional experience that they’re adding to a full plate of co-curriculars and course load.”

At the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, Purcell and Darlene Xiomara Rodriguez, an associate professor of social work and human services at KSU, had been involved with support programs for women faculty and doctoral students. Knowing the pandemic would impact them in some way, the pair began monitoring timely news articles, industry and trade reports, and government documents for early indicators of trends and found there were increased levels of disengagement throughout the formal workforce.

“We published an article that presented our conceptual framework of the ‘COVID Shift,’ which argued that organizations have a vested interest and responsibility for their employees and in providing ongoing learning, development and support, especially during periods when there is systemic career disruption,” Purcell said.

Students have gone through the process of a literature review and have learned to code data from nearly four dozen interviews, workshops and community forums with women faculty that Purcell conducted. The material reflects a known trend during that time, the “she-cession,” or the mass exodus and career downshifting among women from the formal workforce.

“There were expectations on all fronts, especially for faculty that were parents and caregivers,” Purcell said. “There were also increased expectations professionally because we were pivoting online. Some of our faculty had never taught online before. It was a lot all at once, and it wasn’t unique to higher education.”

Hannah Anderson, a KSU Journey Honors student majoring in international affairs, said the project caught her eye immediately. Anderson, who intends to go to law school, has secured a number of scholarships, including as a member of the President's Emerging Global Scholars cohort, which accepts 25 first-year honors students annually.

One of Anderson’s responsibilities in the project has been reviewing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of isolation.

“I’ve just always been interested in learning more about the experiences of others and the obstacles they face around the world,” Anderson said. “The project has been a learning process, and it has revealed to me a lot of different perspectives from different types of women, like those without a support system.”

Mechanical engineering student Kyndall Moore, also in the Honors College, said the project has been a continuation of her previous work empowering women and girls as a member of the Girl Scouts, through STEM education. It has also allowed Moore to develop major critical thinking skills and acts as a steppingstone for future research.

“The First-Year Scholars Program is a really beneficial thing for students who are just starting off, who need to build their resume with more work experience,” she said.

Onofre, a political science student, added that the research skills she developed while working on the project is something she will continue to use long after it’s finished. Research is an in-depth practice that goes beyond reading articles to answer a question, she said.

“The ability to research is a necessary skill to have, especially in a time when there is so much misinformation,” Onofre said.

– Story by Amber Perry

Photos by Darnell Wilburn

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 47,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.