Megan Covington

Virginia Beach and Alleghany County, Virginia

Ph.D. in Higher Education, Individualized Minor in Qualitative Inquiry Applied to African American Education

Dissertation
"'I Don’t Need The Academy To Teach, I’m A Teacher In My Soul': A Critical Exploration of the Influence of Black Women Graduate Instructors’ Experiences Teaching Race on Their Perspectives and Aspirations Towards Faculty Careers"

Research Interests
Black feminism, Black women graduate students' and faculty's experiences in the academy, critical qualitative inquiry, narrative inquiry, hip-hop feminism

What’s the significance of your research?
Argues that Black women's experiences with gendered racism as instructors of courses with race and white privilege content for white students influences them not to enter the professoriate, which contributes to Black women's underrepresentation as faculty.

What are your future plans?
I will be relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, for my new position as a Research Associate at UNCF (United Negro College Fund). I also own and manage an editing company called The People's Editor and am looking forward to a research, writing, consulting and entrepreneurial career path.

Wende’ Ferguson

Charlotte, North Carolina

Ph.D. in Higher Education, Minor in History of Education

Dissertation
"A Different World: Understanding the Experiences of Black Female Law Students at a Predominantly White Institution"

Research Interests
Black feminism, Black women graduate and professional students, critical race theory in higher education

What is the significance of your research?
Provides an understanding of the experiences of Black female law students, campus climate within predominantly White law programs and institutions, and university support. Most research on the experiences of Black women in legal education focuses on the faculty experience. As a result, there is a dearth of information on the experiences of Black female law students. This qualitative narrative method provided Black female law students an opportunity to explore their experiences in their voices and contribute to the literature from a student’s perspective.

What are your future plans?
Assistant Dean for Student Services at Penn State Law in University Park. Newly elected chair of the ACPA Commission for Graduate and Professional Student Affairs (CGPSA).

Krystie Herndon

Bloomington, Indiana

Ed.D. Higher Education, Minor in Folklore

Dissertation
"'There's A Lot More Culture In My Life Than I Thought': Studying Folklore as Part of an Undergraduate General Education"

Research Interest
Culture learning in undergraduate general education, folklore undergraduate education

What is the significance of your research?
Amplifies student voices in exploring the alignment of cultural learning outcomes to students' actual experiences

What are your future plans?
Promotion within academic advising structure of IUB College of Arts and Sciences

Angel Nathan

Atlanta, Georgia

Ph.D. in Higher Education, Minors in Inquiry Methodology and Non-profit Management

Dissertation
"Know Your Role: The Positioning of Black Students Through Leaders’ Discourse in Higher Education"

Research interest
Language use and power, leadership discourse, institutional responsibility

What is the significance of your research?
Addresses the role leaders’ language plays in support of structural racism in higher education

What are your future plans?
Actively pursuing research opportunities within and outside of the academy.

Dajanae Palmer

Riverside, California

Ph.D. in Higher Education, Minor in the Critical Studies of Black Women in Education

Dissertation
"I Got A Lot To Be Mad About: Sista Circles As a Counterspace for Black Women Doctoral Students"

Research Interest
Graduate students, Black feminism, Black women doctoral students, counterspaces, gendered racial microaggressions, critical race feminism, sista circle methodology

What is the significance of your research?
The study explores the experiences of Black women in doctoral education navigating gendered racial microaggressions and their capacity to generate knowledge in community. Black women are graduating, but they are having negative and inequitable experiences and this study uncovers how they persist despite the challenges. The study centers Black women and spotlights their voices in the literature on graduate students. Additionally, the study provides space and support through a sista circle and uncovers the knowledge we create together. I highlight sista circle methodology as a tool towards social justice using praxis to uplift and support Black women doctoral students.

Christen Priddie

Long Beach, California

Ph.D. in Higher Education, Minor in Inquiry Methodology

Dissertation
"A Pathway Toward Cultural Relevance: A QuantCrit Analysis of Collaborative Learning Experiences for Black STEM Students Through An Anti-Blackness Lens"

Research Interest
Black Students, Equity and Anti-Blackness in STEM Education, QuantCrit

What is the significance of your research?
Reconceptualizes what it means to center Black students in STEM education by exploring how collaborative learning in STEM classrooms can be implemented to become a more culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogical tool for Black students. This work will significantly contribute to institutional efforts aimed at improving the underrepresentation of Black students in STEM fields by taking a deeper look at one piece of the puzzle. Furthermore, my work provides an example for how we can study race using quantitative methodologies more responsibly.

What are your future plans?
Pursuing faculty and post-doc positions in the Higher Education field

Sydney Rucker

Birmingham, Alabama

Ph.D. in Higher Education, Minor in Public Management

Dissertation
"The Influence of Displacement and Disenfranchisement in Community-campus Partnership Development Between Community Centers in the Near Westside Of Indianapolis and Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis (IUPUI)"

Research Interest
Partnership development, community-engaged scholarship, cultural competency, cultural humility, conflict resolution, town-gown relationships

What is the significance of your research?
Examines partnership development from the perspectives of community-based organization leaders. Findings will help to better determine best practices in community-campus partnership development, partnership best practices, and encourage the use of history in partnership development processes.

What are your future plans?
Currently, I serve as the Director of Diversity Initiatives for the Indiana University School of Medicine. In the future, I look forward to opportunities that allow me to explore diversity, equity, and justice as essential components of organizational development, and partnership development across multiple sectors.

Keeley Webb Copridge

Radcliff, Kentucky

Ph.D. in Higher Education, Minor in Urban Education

Dissertation
"I Am _____: Black College Women's Use of Capital in Redefining their Narrative in the College Choice Process"

Research Interest
Black feminism, Black women college access and preparation, Black student engagement, HBCUs organizational culture and engagement, teaching pedagogy

What is the significance of your research?
This study examines the college choice experiences of Black girls. Through the use of traditional and non-traditional methodologies, this study sought to examine how Black girls' raced and gendered identities influenced their college choice experience. Findings from this study will assist in creating a more culturally inclusive college access and preparation experiences for Black girls.

What are your future plans?
Currently, I serve as a Senior Research Associate with the United Negro College Fund Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute.