Bill Piper

Dissertation: "Determinants of state individual income tax changes"

Bio: Bill Piper is a member of the 2015 cohort. He has worked for the Illinois Department of Revenue since 2006 and is an income tax auditor. His research interests include federal and state taxation, auditing, and budgeting. The working title of his dissertation thesis is Determinants of State Individual Income Tax Changes.

Sophia M. Gehlhausen Anderson

Dissertation: "Postsecondary educational attainment: The importance of living-learning communities, validation, and non-cognitive factors in affecting student outcomes"

Hometown: Chatham, IL

Undergraduate Institution and Major: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BS Plant Biology

Graduate Institution and Major: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, MS Plant Biology

Nelson Agbodo

Dissertation: "Maternal and child health: An assessment of the effects of prenatal care on birth outcomes in Illinois using the method of difference-in-differences"

Current hometown: Jerome, IL

Original hometown: Lomé, Togo (West Africa)

Undergraduate Institution and Major: University of Lomé, Togo, bachelor’s in economics

Graduate Institution and Major: University of Lomé, Togo, master’s in economics

Yetunde Agbesola

Dissertation: "Sustainable municipal solid waste management in the united states: WTE adoption and integration"

Hometown: Chatham, IL

Undergraduate Institution and Major: University of Ibadan, Nigeria, Bachelor of Agriculture in Animal Science

Graduate Institution and Major: Linköping University, Sweden, Master of Environmental Science

University of Illinois, Springfield, Master of Public Health-Environmental Health

Anita J. Rumage

Dissertation: "Nonprofit leadership transition: A preparedness study"

Hometown: Rockford, Illinois

Undergraduate Institution and Major: B.S. in Human Relations, Rockford University (1997)

Graduate Institution and Major: M.S. in Education, Northern Illinois University (2006)

Jeremiah R. Bailey

Dissertation: "Drug policy: The opioid problem: An evaluation of the Illinois opioid action plan"

Hometown: Louisville, KY

Undergraduate Institution and Major: University of Louisville​- Bachelors of Science (Emphasis in Justice Administration)

Graduate Institution and Major: Western Kentucky University- Master of Art (Emphasis in Criminology)

Kofi Abaidoo

Dissertation: "Examining the Wisconsin lean government initiative"

Hometown: Cape Coast, Ghana 

Undergraduate Institution and Major: University of Montana, Missoula. Bachelor’s in Public Administration 

Graduate Institution and Major: Minnesota State University, Mankato. Master’s Degree in Public Administration