LeKita Scott Dawkins Editor

Tamara Bertrand Jones is Assistant Professor in the Higher Education program at Florida State University.Dr. Tamara Bertrand Jones attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she received a bachelor's degree in Journalism. Upon graduation she completed her master's degree in Higher Education at Florida State University (FSU). She then completed her doctoral studies in Research and Program Evaluation, also at FSU. Her research interests are assessment and evaluation in higher education (student affairs), culturally responsive evaluation, mentoring, Black graduate students, and the transition for graduate students to junior faculty. She belongs to many professional organizations, including the American Evaluation Association (AEA), the Southeast Evaluation Association (SEA), the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), and the American Educational Research Association (AERA). In addition, she is a founder and Past-President of Sisters of the Academy (SOTA) Institute (www.sistersoftheacademy.org), an international organization that promotes collaborative scholarship among Black females in the academy. LeKita Scott Dawkins is Director of Foundation Relations and an adjunct instructor at Syracuse University. A native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Dr. LeKita Scott Dawkins is a founding member of Sisters of the Academy (SOTA) Institute (www.sistersoftheacademy.org). She is co-editor of Journey to the Ph.D.: How to Navigate the Process as African Americans which is a timely guide and source of information for men and women of color considering the journey towards a terminal degree. Dr. Scott Dawkins possesses a passion for exploring the recruitment, retention, and advancement of ethnic minorities, particularly those in the field of fund-raising/development and those in graduate programs. She received her BS in Elementary Education from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, her MEd in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University, and her PhD in Educational Leadership from Florida State University. Melanie Hayden Glover is Associate Director of Multicultural Recruitment in Undergraduate Admissions at Ohio University (Athens, OH). Prior to her position at Ohio University, Melanie was the Special Assistant for Pre-College/Pipeline Initiatives reporting to the Assistant Provost and Director for Academic Support Programs at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, Virginia). Much of her research focuses on admissions policies and practices in higher education and those factors that influence the undergraduate and graduate school choice process for students of color. Melanie is a member of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), the American Educational Research Association (AERA), National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC), and Sisters of the Academy (SOTA) Institute (www.sistersoftheacademy.org). Melanie earned her PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Virginia Tech, an M.A.Ed. in Higher Education and Student Affairs also from Virginia Tech, and a B.B.A. in Marketing from James Madison University (Harrisonburg, Virginia). Marguerite M. McClinton is a consultant and pursuing her MBA at the University of Texas at Dallas.She was an administrator at Paul Quinn College in Dallas, TX. She has worn many hats, such as Special Assistant to the President and Director of academic and retention programs. She previously worked at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. She also served for three years as the Director of the John W. Elrod University Commons and Campus Activities at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA. She received her doctorate in higher education administration from Florida State University with a minor in Public Policy. Her dissertation focused on the Bright Futures merit-based program and how it impacts student success among African American students. She has worked in residential life at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, as well as served as a research assistant at the Center for the Study of Values at Florida State University. At Florida State University she became the Associate Director of the Hardee Center for Women in Higher Education. Her research interests rest in public policy in higher education, organizational culture, women in higher education, and access pertaining to students of color. She was the coeditor of The Art of Practical Wisdom of Student Affairs Leadership. She received her master's in education at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, where she focused on educational administration and policy. She received her bachelor's at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, where her major was Educational Studies and her minor was Sociology. Johnetta Cross Brazzell