JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY’S EXECUTIVE PH.D. PROGRAM ATTRACTS LEADERS WITH DIVINE 9 ROOTS

BY ALONDA THOMAS

As Jackson State University (JSU)’s prominent Executive Ph.D. in Urban Higher Education (EPHD) program approaches 20 years of developing transformative leaders, members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Kappa Alpha Psi National Fraternity, Inc. are well represented as current graduate students in the program. Executive Director Walter A. Brown, Ed.D., said throughout its tenure the program has attracted students from various service organizations.

“Once the cohort is formed, it generates an even stronger bond among those who are members of certain organizations – fraternities and sororities. It tends to strengthen the work ethic within the cohort and the ability to work with one another because the program is intense and extremely taxing,” said Brown, who is a 50-year member of Kappa Alpha Psi.

JSU’s two-year Executive Ph.D. program is designed to prepare individuals for senior-level positions at various entities, including academia, corporate, governmental, non-governmental or nonprofit sectors. Additionally, it has distinguished itself by filling a crucial pipeline to diversify the role of college president. According to a study by the American Council on Education, racial/ ethnic minorities held only 17% of presidencies in 2017, while people of color comprised approximately 42% of college students in 2015.

“As the country continues to evolve culturally, the need for diverse leadership in higher education is essential,” said Brown. “As a result, our program has experienced consistent enrollments and above average graduation rates for doctoral programs. Many of our graduates have filled critical senior-level positions in higher education institutions.”

The list of prominent alumni currently serving in higher education leadership includes George T. French, Ph.D., president of Clark Atlanta University; Larissa Littleton-Steib, Ph.D., Delgado Community College chancellor; Braque Talley, Ph.D., Alabama A&M University vice president for student affairs; Allen P. Vital, Ph.D., chief of staff of the Southern University System; and Melva K. Williams, Ph.D., president and CEO of Huston-Tillotson University.

Cohort 19 of the JSU EPHD program began in fall 2022. The group consists of 16 professionals, including seven members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., two members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and one member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Among the 20 students in Cohort 18, there are six members of Kappa Alpha Psi, four members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., one member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and one member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Tish Bullard, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., is from Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Currently, she works in Institutional Advancement at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), where she oversees donor engagement, community partner relationships, and special events and projects.

Bullard said, “My ultimate goal is to achieve a position as a chief of staff or a university vice president.”

She learned of the EPHD route after consulting with colleagues who went through the program.

“When I realized that I wanted to advance and get a terminal degree, I started to talk to those individuals, and they encouraged me to look at the program,” said Bullard.

She said becoming one of seven sorority sisters in Cohort 19 was a “happy coincidence.” She added, “being active in our organization, we thrive on education and economic growth. The program will advance our careers, aid us in our endeavors and help us encourage young women to strive higher.”

Corey S. Edmonds is the assistant director of Undergraduate Admissions at North Carolina Central University. The Kappa Alpha Psi member is passionate about the history and legacy of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). His immediate goal is to obtain a senior-level leadership role.

“Every article that speaks about HBCUs always talks about the relevance and what the implications are if we don’t support them,” said Edmonds. “Part of me thinks that that’s not by mistake. We’re under-supported for a reason. The EPHD program combats that. It identifies that there’s a gap and a need for individuals like us and practitioners who want to move things forward.”

Prior to applying, Edmonds said he learned that others in his circle were EPHD alumni, including a couple of fraternity brothers in Cohort 17. “The thing that stood out to me is the cohort model and the support that was available. As you look across the landscape of HBCU leadership, currently a significant amount of leadership has ties to JSU.”

Kappa Alpha Psi and Cohort 18 member Donald W. Comer is one of the few program participants not currently employed in higher education. His role as vice president of Decision Science and Analytics at FedEx in Memphis, Tenn., has offered opportunities to see how corporations and universities can collaborate meaningfully. He views the EPHD program as a pathway to sustaining the legacy and future of HBCUs, including the two that he serves as a board member – Stillman and LeMoyne-Owen colleges.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the applicability of the program’s content in my corporate position,” said Comer. “The EPHD program is all about doing research. Its broad-based applicability goes beyond the original intended purpose of mentoring college presidents or successful administrators in higher ed. It’s applicable in many other areas because of the quality of the content and the teaching. It’s also the mix of individuals who have personal experiences that punctuate what is being discussed in the classroom.”

Amanda Dear-Jones of Clarksdale, Miss., is another member of Alpha Kappa Alpha in Cohort 19. The self-described social advocate is CEO and president of Family Youth Opportunities Division, Inc. The EPHD will be her fourth JSU degree.

“This degree will help me be more credible because our focus is understanding marginalized communities in an urban environment,” said Dear-Jones. “The program will help me be an independent thinker, and it will also give me creative avenues to be able to go into rooms that I’m not in yet, to be able to help make decisions, to transform not only life for myself, but those that come behind me.”

She described the union with her sorority sisters as a “divine intervention” because the group works well together and holds one another accountable. “When it’s time to do big things, there’s no other way but the AKA way. We are leaders in education.”

Executive Director Brown predicts that Jackson State’s EPHD program will continue to thrive for another 20 years and beyond because it prepares those who want a disciplined understanding of higher education, and particularly African Americans aspiring for top leadership positions.

“Remember the original mission of HBCUs,” advised Brown. “To provide higher education for African Americans who would not have had an opportunity to be admitted at other institutions at the graduate, master’s or Ph.D. levels. Access to other institutions may have changed, but the nurturing environment found in HBCU environments continues to set us apart for students to connect, achieve and thrive.”

For more information about the Executive Ph.D. Program at Jackson State University, visit www.JSUMS.edu/ EPHD.