Dr. Rene O. Guillaume is a Professor of Educational Leadership and Administration at New Mexico State University, where he has served for more than two decades. He currently serves as Program Coordinator for the Master’s in Higher Education and has previously held department-level leadership roles, including Interim Co-Director of Educational Leadership and Administration. Earlier in his career, he directed NMSU’s TRiO Upward Bound Program.
Dr. Guillaume earned his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Administration from New Mexico State University, an M.Ed. in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education from Texas A&M University, and a B.A. in Business with concentrations in Marketing and Human Resource Management from the University of Texas at El Paso. His teaching, scholarship, and professional work span leadership development, adult and continuing education, faculty development, student affairs, higher education administration, and qualitative and mixed-methods research.
Research Interests
Dr. Guillaume’s scholarship focuses on leadership development and the experiences of individuals navigating educational organizations. His research examines faculty life, teaching and culture; emotional intelligence and leadership development; professional advancement and leadership transitions; identity and belonging in higher education; and access and opportunity for adult and post-traditional learners. His work also addresses the experiences of Faculty of Color and the organizational and cultural conditions that shape professional success in higher education.
Teaching Interests
Dr. Guillaume teaches courses in higher education administration, adult and continuing education, leadership, qualitative research, data-informed decision-making, dissertation development, and scholarly writing. His teaching emphasizes the practical application of theory, critical inquiry, leadership development, and the use of research to understand and address complex educational problems.
Courses taught include:
Selected Publications
Guillaume, R. O., & Bott Lyons, T. (2026). Navigating disrupted pathways: First-generation college students, COVID-19, and the struggle for belonging. Journal of First-generation Student Success.
Bott Lyons, T., & Guillaume, R. O. (2025). Just checking it out: High school equivalency students and tentative college transitions. The Journal of Continuing Higher Education.
Olguin, F., & Guillaume, R. O. (2025). Navigating familismo and higher education: Voices of rural Latina/o/x students from the borderlands. Journal of Latinos in Education.
Williams, C., Guillaume, R. O., & Zamora, R. (2023). Biracial identity in adult military children. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 23(4), 361–378. https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2023.2238208
Guillaume, R. O. (2021). Formal knowledge acquisition and socialization to educational leadership by program graduates: The intersection of social justice and the role of program faculty. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 16(2), 107–121. https://doi.org/10.1177/19427751211002223
Guillaume, R. O. (2020). The experience of Faculty of Color in departments of educational leadership and administration: The role of emotional and social intelligence in navigating promotion and tenure to achieve the rank of associate professor. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 16(3), 200–225. https://doi.org/10.1177/1942775120902190
Guillaume, R. O., Saiz, M. S., & Amador, A. (2020). Prepared to lead: Educational leadership graduates as catalysts for social justice praxis. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 15(4), 283–302. https://doi.org/10.1177/1942775119829887
For More Information:
Curriculum Vitae (PDF format)
