She teaches graduate-level courses on research methodology and school and classroom assessment. She also serves on doctoral dissertation committees throughout the College of Education. Her primary research focuses on student grief and bereavement in higher education. Mary Alice is a member of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the Mixed Methods International Research Association, the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC), the Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement, the Southern Association for College Student Affairs, and is an Advisor representative for Mendeley, a world-wide reference manager and academic social network.