Dr. Payne has served in a variety of positions in higher education including an Assistant Director of Residence Life at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and Director of Operations for the Department of Residence at the University of Denver. He arrived in August, 2000 as the Director of Housing and Residential Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He graduated with a B.S. in Psychology from Colorado State University, MS.Ed. in Counseling with an emphasis in College Student Personnel Administration from the University of Wisconsin at Platteville, and a Ph.D. in College Student Personnel Administration from the University of Northern Colorado.