Howard Simmons Dissertation of the Year Award

The Howard Simmons Dissertation of the Year Award honors exceptional doctoral research that promotes equity, inclusion, and innovation in urban education. We are proud to spotlight these incredible scholars:

• Gretchen Rudham (2013, Urban Educational Leadership)
  PRESERVING RACE AND CLASS: A CRITICAL ETHNOGRAPHY OF URBAN ART MUSEUM DOCENTS, BACKSTAGE AND FRONTSTAGE PERFORMANCES

• Laurie Cook (2014, Science Education)
  MENTOR/MENTEE RELATIONSHIPS: THE EXPERIENCE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STEM MAJORS

• Sung-Yoon Kim (2015, Community College Leadership)
  EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MENTORING EXPERIENCES AND INTENT TO PERSIST AND COMPLETE FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE STUDENTS AT MARYLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGES

• Ramon Goings (2016, Urban Educational Leadership)
  HIGH-ACHIEVING AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES AT ONE HISTORICALLY BLACK UNIVERSITY: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

• Nia Imani Fields (2017, Urban Educational Leadership)
  THE CONTRIBUTION OF URBAN 4-H POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS SOCIAL CAPITAL AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE

• Martin Dada (2018, Higher Education)
  AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS’ ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT BLACKNESS OR WHITENESS, EXPLORED IN THE CONTEXT OF COLLEGE SELECTION: AN INTERPRETIVE ANALYSIS

• Charmaine Troy (2019, Higher Education)
  EXAMINING MEDIA BIAS SURROUNDING BLACK HIGHER EDUCATION: A CONTENT AND DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF NEWS SURROUNDING CRITICAL INCIDENTS THAT HAVE OCCURRED AT TWO HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

• Cody Cassiday (2020, Mathematics Education)
  ON THE MATH EXPERIENCES OF TRANSSPECTRUM UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

• Angel Clay (2021, Community College Leadership)
  THE IMPACT OF A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAM ON TRANSFER AND BACHELOR’S DEGREE ATTAINMENT

• Regina Bentley (2022, Mathematics Education)
  “TRY THIS BRICK”: A TRANSFORMATIVE NARRATIVE INQUIRY EXAMINING THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF TRANSGENDER AND GENDER NONCONFORMING COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS

• Megan Schutte (2022, Higher Education)
  “TRY THIS BRICK”: A TRANSFORMATIVE NARRATIVE INQUIRY EXAMINING THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF TRANSGENDER AND GENDER NONCONFORMING COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS

• Kernysha Rowe (2023, Higher Education)
  CROWNING GLORY: EXPLORING THE NARRATIVES OF BLACK WOMEN WITH NATURAL HAIR AND HAIR TEXTURE DURING THE CONSTRUCTION OF PROFESSIONAL IDENTITIES AS MEDICAL AND LAW PROFESSIONALS

• Marie-Gabrielle Ngono-Binelli (2024, Urban Educational Leadership)
  LIVED EXPERIENCES OF FORMER HIGH SCHOOL AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS IN US CLASSROOMS: A SINGLE EXPERIENCE

• Kia Kuresman (2024, Higher Education)
  PRIORITIZING ME: AN EXPLORATION OF CARE FOR MID-LEVEL HIGHER EDUCATION ADMINISTRATORS

• Brianna Ross (2025, Urban Educational Leadership)
  AS IF THE JOY-PARTS WERE ACCIDENTAL: UNEARTHING JOY THROUGH STUDENTS’ COUNTER-STORIES OF BALTIMORE COUNTY COLORED SCHOOLS