Sarah A. Deal, Ph. D. is a research affiliate at the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research. Deal researches topics including dual enrollment, college access, and rural student success. Deal focuses on policy and practitioner-relevant research, leveraging her 10 years of experience working in higher education within North Carolina, most recently with the North Carolina Community College System. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Policy and Human Development in 2020 at North Carolina State University and is a Lead Consultant with DVP-PRAXIS LTD.