Adam T. Clark, Ph.D. is a higher education administrator and practitioner-researcher based in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. He currently serves as Director of First Year Student Experience & Academic Advising at Hawaiʻi Pacific University, where he leads academic advising, first-year programming, and student success initiatives for incoming students. He previously directed the Hoʻokō Rising Scholars Program, a federally funded Title III Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions grant supporting low-income, first-generation college students. His professional interests span program design, student success, academic advising, and qualitative research methodologies.
Education
Ph.D., Learning, Literacies and Technology
Specialization: International Higher Education & Qualitative Research Methodologies
Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University, 2020
M.A., Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
Azusa Pacific University, 2010
B.A., History
Mount Vernon Nazarene University, 2007
Professional Experience
Director, First Year Student Experience & Academic Advising
Hawaiʻi Pacific University | 2025–Present
Director, Hoʻokō Rising Scholars Program (Title III)
Hawaiʻi Pacific University | 2023–2026
Adjunct Associate Professor (Dissertation Seminar)
St. John’s University, College of Education | 2020–Present
Academic Associate
Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University | 2020–2022
Graduate Research & Teaching Assistant
Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University | 2015–2020
Senior Global Educator
ASU Global Launch, Arizona State University | 2014–2015
Senior ESL Specialist & Program Coordinator
English Language Program, Saginaw Valley State University | 2010–2014
Selected Publications
Clark, A. T., Ahmed, I., Metzger, S., Walker, E., & Wylie, R. (2022). Moving from co-design to co-research: Engaging youth participation in guided qualitative inquiry. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21.
Clark, A. T., Lippincott, D., & Kim, J. (2021). More than learning English? The impact of university intensive English language program attendance on international student academic achievement. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 29, 43.
Okhremtchouk, I. S., & Clark, A. T. (2018). The politics of despair enabled by dysconscious xenophobiaism: A call to action on behalf of immigrants and their children. Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education, 17(2).
Selected Presentations
Clark, A. T., Manzanares, R., & Bulkawski, J. (2025). Empowering persistence: Lessons from Hoʻokō Rising Scholars.
Clark, A. (2019). Internationalization networks in public university English language programs. Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). Portland, OR.
Clark, A., Lippincott, D., & Kim, J. (2019). More than learning English. American Educational Research Association (AERA). Toronto, ON.
Awards & Grants
Supplemental Program Grant — US Department of Education, 2024 ($375,000)
Community Program Grant — Kosasa Foundation, 2023 ($50,000)
Ke Kaukahi Award — Hawaiʻi Pacific University, 2023
LLT Dissertation Award — Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, ASU, 2019
Service & Membership
CEA Site Reviewer & Team Leader, 2013–Present
Manuscript Reviewer: The Qualitative Report, EPAA/AAPE, Policy Futures in Education
Member: AERA, ASHE, AIEA, ICQI