Chelsea E. Haines

As Chief of Staff, Chelsea serves as an information conduit for and extends the capacity of the Vice President of Student Affairs. She leads projects that advance strategic priorities and initiatives on behalf of the division and serves on the Vice President for Student Affairs senior leadership team.

Chelsea earned a Ph.D. in higher education from Virginia Tech, an M.B.A. from Lynchburg College, and a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Mars Hill College. She is also an affiliate faculty with the Department of Engineering Education and affiliate assistant professor of practice in the School of Education.

She began her career at Virginia Tech in 2013 as the manager of academic affairs and business operations with the program in real estate, now the Blackwood Department of Real Estate in the Pamplin College of Business. While earning her doctorate, she served as a graduate assistant in Student Affairs Assessment and Professional Development. After earning her doctorate, she became the postdoctoral associate for outreach and engagement, with the Center for Educational Networks and Impacts within the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology at Virginia Tech, prior to taking on the role of associate director of broader impacts.

As an educational researcher, Chelsea explores the intersections of P-12 and higher education policy and finance, academic labor, graduate education, and assessment of student learning. By critically examining these areas, she aims to illuminate adverse, systemic impacts of policies and practices on historically marginalized populations at the organizational level. She has received funding from agencies such as the National Science Foundation, United States Department of Agriculture, and Virginia Department of Education for her work in research and evaluation. Chelsea's work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Higher Education, Journal of Education Human Resources, Journal of Education Finance, and the International Journal of STEM Education. She serves on the Board of Trustees for the National Education Finance Academy and was named the Emerging Scholar for the ACPA-College Student Educators International’s Coalition for Women’s Identities in 2021.

Chelsea was named the Faculty Mentor of the Month by the Virginia Tech Graduate School in February 2023 for her work with graduate students, specifically those with disabilities and minoritized and marginalized students. Her student nominators appreciated her willingness to credit students’ contributions and to take the time to provide individualized mentoring and encouragement. She is also a recipient of the 2022 Alumni Award for Outreach Excellence - Team from the Virginia Tech Alumni Association, along with Lisa McNair and Phyllis Newbill.

Chelsea and her son Ty live in Blacksburg with their miniature dachshund Bella. When she is not cheering Ty on at football and baseball games, she loves attending outdoor music festivals with her friends.