Karly Ball Isaacson is an assistant professor of higher education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.  After earning a B.A. from Wake Forest University and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Virginia, she completed her Ph.D. in Education and Inequality at the George Washington University. Prior to joining the University of Tennessee, Dr. Isaacson completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Michigan State University, where she worked on a large-scale, longitudinal study of autistic college student success. She teaches courses related to qualitative and mixed methods research, student success, and higher education policy. 

Dr. Isaacson’s research agenda focuses on improving disabled college students’ experiences by examining how higher education systems can better support them. In particular, her work largely focuses on chronically ill college students’ experiences and disability-related postsecondary financial need. She has published nearly 20 articles in leading outlets such as the Journal of Higher Education, Journal of College Student Development, and Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. Dr. Isaacson also serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of College Student Development, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, and Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability. She is an active member of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) and the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

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