Elizabeth Rainey EdD

Elizabeth (Liz) Rainey has 20 years of experience in higher education administration at three universities. As the Assistant Provost for Student Success at Loyola, Liz oversees more than 20 full-time staff and 50 employees in the Pan-American Life Student Success Center. In addition to leading university-wide efforts to improve retention and completion rates, Liz centralized campuswide student services by managing the renovation of an integrated space that now includes academic advising, accessible education, career development and student employment, success coaching, TRIO student support services, and tutoring. She successfully co-wrote the first federal TRIO grant for Loyola and brought in new funds to outfit virtual interview room space and technology. Liz is an InsideTrack-certified success coach and success coach trainer.

Liz is the department chair for special studies, which houses a number of credit-bearing success and transition classes for students, including a class for students on academic probation. She developed and teaches a first-year seminar course called, The College Multiverse, which aspires to teach students about the purpose, philosophy, and history of higher education. She leads the first-year experience committee, bringing together academic seminars, orientation and transition programs, and opportunities designed to ensure first-year students have a common journey that fosters a sense of belonging and mattering.

Liz was the first graduate of the executive doctorate program in higher education leadership at the University of Texas at Austin, where her research focused on students’ experiences, retention outcomes, and financial aid policy. She presents her research-based findings at national conferences, including the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA). She is a reviewer for the Journal of Student Financial Aid and the Journal of Postsecondary Student Success.

Prior to working at Loyola, Liz was an advising dean and adjunct reader for undergraduate admissions at Columbia University. She also worked in faculty support and admissions at New York University.

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