Dr. Bradley E. Cox is an Associate Professor of Higher Education in Florida State University’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, where he is also a Senior Research Associate with the Center for Postsecondary Success (CPS). Dr. Cox is also the Founder and Executive Director of the College Autism Network (CAN), a national non-profit organization dedicated to using evidence-based advocacy to improve experiences and outcomes for college students with autism.

Research: Dr. Cox’s research on college student success has earned over $550,000 in grant funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the NASPA Foundation, the TG Public Benefit Program, and the Spencer Foundation. His work has been published in many of the field's top-tier journals, including the Journal of Higher Education, Review of Higher Education, and the Journal of College Student Development.

The College Autism Network (CAN) family of projects examine the systemic, institutional, and personal conditions that shape college access, experiences, and outcomes for students on the autism spectrum. The Linking Institutional Policies to Student Success (LIPSS) project sought to identify specific institution-wide policies that can be leveraged to increase college student engagement – a key predictor of student grades and persistence that is especially beneficial to underrepresented and academically under-prepared students.

Research Awards

• Robert M. Gagne Outstanding Research Award (2011, 2014, 2017, recipient) FSU College of Education
• Emerging Scholar (2013-14, recipient) ACPA: College Student Educators International
• AIR/NCES Fellowship for Institutional Research (2009-10, recipient)
• Best Paper Award (2010, recipient) Inaugural symposium hosted by Higher Education in Review

Teaching: Dr. Cox’s work as a teacher and mentor has been consistently recognized by my students and institution. A recipient (in 2012; nominated twice more since) of FSU’s Transformation Through Teaching award for “promoting meaning, purpose and authenticity within the Florida State community,” he was also nominated by 6 students and faculty for FSU’s Graduate Student Mentoring Award in 2015 and 2016. Dr. Cox received the Supervisor/Mentor Award from the Hardee Center and FSU’s Higher Education Program in 2016.

Teaching Awards

• Supervisor / Mentor Award (2016, recipient) Hardee Center for Leadership & Ethics
• Graduate Student Mentoring Award (2015, 2016, nominee) Florida State University
• Transformation Through Teaching Award (2012, recipient) (2013, 2015, nominee) Spiritual Life Project

Service: Dr. Cox’s commitment to service is evident both locally and nationally. Within FSU, he has served as Chair of the Faculty Advisory Board as well as the Faculty Development and Merit Pay Committee; he has also been a member of the University’s Faculty Senate and Strategic Planning Committee. Nationally, Dr. Cox has reviewed manuscripts for many of the field’s top journals and has been a member of the Journal of College Student Development’s Editorial Board. In 2016, he founded the College Autism Network (CAN), a national non-profit using evidence-based advocacy to improve experiences and outcomes for college students with autism.

Dr. Cox teaches courses related to college student populations and student development theory. Previously, he served as The Coordinator of Research and Public Information at the University of South Carolina’s National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. He prefers to be called “Brad” by colleagues and students alike.

Dr. Cox received his Ph.D. in Higher Education from the Pennsylvania State University in 2010.

Key Publications (Complete CV)
^† Indicates work with students

^†Cox, B. E., Reason, R. D., Tobolowsky, B. T., Brower, R. L., Patterson, S., Luczyk, S., and Roberts, K. L. (2017). Lip service or actionable insights? Linking student experiences to assessment, accountability, and data-driven decision making in higher education. Journal of Higher Education, 88(6), 835-862.
doi: 10.1080/00221546.2016.1272320

^†Cox, B. E., Thompson, K., Anderson, A., Mintz, A., Locks, T. Morgan, L., Edelstein, J., & Wolz, A. (2017). College experiences for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Personal identity, public disclosure, and institutional support. Journal of College Student Development, 58(1), 71-87.

^†Cox, B. E., Reason, R. D., Nix, S. & Schwab, M. (2016). Life happens (outside of college): Non-college life-events and students’ likelihood of on-time graduation. Research in Higher Education, 57(7), 823-844. doi: 10.1007/s11162-016-9409-z

^†Cox, B. E., McIntosh, K. L., Reason, R. D., and Terenzini, P. T. (2014). Working with missing data in higher education research: A primer and real-world example. Review of Higher Education, 37(3), 377-402. doi: 10.1353/rhe.2014.0026.

Roehrig, A. D., Soper, D., Cox, B. E., & Colvin, G. P. (2018). Changing the default to support open access to education research. Educational Researcher. doi: 10.3102/0013189X18782974

Other Publications
^† Indicates work with students

^†Tobolowsky, B. T., Cox, B. E., & Chunoo, V. (In press). Bridging the cultural gap: Relationships between programmatic offerings and first-generation student benchmarks. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice. doi: 10.1177/1521025117742377

^†Cox, B. E., Reason, R. D., Tobolowsky, B. T., Brower, R. L., Patterson, S., Luczyk, S., and Roberts, K. L. (2017). Lip service or actionable insights? Linking student experiences to assessment, accountability, and data-driven decision making in higher education. Journal of Higher Education, 88(6), 835-862.
doi: 10.1080/00221546.2016.1272320

Canto, A. I., Swanbrow Becker, M., Cox, B. E., Hayden, S., Osborn, D. (2017). College students in crisis: Prevention, identification, and response options for campus housing professionals. Journal of College and University Student Housing, 43(2), 44-57.

^†Cox, B. E., Thompson, K., Anderson, A., Mintz, A., Locks, T. Morgan, L., Edelstein, J., & Wolz, A. (2017). College experiences for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Personal identity, public disclosure, and institutional support. Journal of College Student Development, 58(1), 71-87.

^†Cox, B. E., Reason, R. D., Nix, S. & Schwab, M. (2016). Life happens (outside of college): Non-college life-events and students’ likelihood of on-time graduation. Research in Higher Education, 57(7), 823-844. doi: 10.1007/s11162-016-9409-z

^†Brower, R. L., Cox, B. E., & Hampton, A. (2016). No adult left behind: Student affairs practices targeting adult undergraduates. ACPA Developments, 14(2).

^†Shetty, R., Chunoo, V. & Cox, B. E., (2016). Self-authorship in student affairs: A developmental paradox? Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 53(2), 131-145. doi: 10.1080/19496591.2016.1121147

^†Cox, B. E., Dean, J. & Kowalski, R. (2015). Hidden trauma, quiet drama: The prominence and consequence of problematic grieving among college students. Journal of College Student Development, 56(3), 280-285.

Tobolowsky, B. T., McClellan, R., and Cox, B. E. (2014). Opposing forces: An organizational view of transfer policies and practices. College Student Affairs Journal, 32(1), 67-80.

^†Cox, B. E., McIntosh, K. L., Reason, R. D., and Terenzini, P. T. (2014). Working with missing data in higher education research: A primer and real-world example. Review of Higher Education, 37(3), 377-402. doi: 10.1353/rhe.2014.0026.

Cox, B. E. (2012). A developmental typology of faculty-student interaction outside of the classroom. In Understanding College Student Experiences and Outcomes: A Typological Approach (S. Hu and S. Li, Editors). New Directions for Institutional Research. (p., 49-66). doi: 10.1002/ir

Tobolowsky, B. T. & Cox, B. E. (2012). Rationalizing neglect: An Institutional Response to Transfer Students. Journal of Higher Education, 83(3), 389-410. doi: 10.1353/jhe.2012.0021.

^†Cox, B. E., McIntosh, K. L., Reason, R. D., & Terenzini, P. T. (2011). A culture of teaching: Policy, perception, and practice in higher education. Research in Higher Education, 52(8), 808-829. doi: 10.1007/s11162-011-9223-6.

^†Cox, B. E., McIntosh, K. L., Terenzini, P. T., Reason, R. D., & Lutovsky Quaye, B. R. (2010).Pedagogical signals of faculty approachability: Factors shaping faculty-student interaction outside the classroom. Research in Higher Education, 51(8), 767-788. doi: 10.1007/s11162-010-9178-z.

^†Reason, R. D., Cox, B. E., Lutovsky Quaye, B. R., & Terenzini, P. T. (2010). Faculty and institutional factors that promote student encounters with difference in first-year courses. Review of Higher Education, 33(3), 391-414. doi:10.1353/rhe.0.0137.