Professors: Higher Education’s Change Agents
All of us can remember a professor that made a difference when we were in college. We remember both those professors we absolutely adored as well as those we loathed. Ironically, we learned important lifelong lessons from both. From the ones that were in our corner and supportive, we learned the value of having a reliable mentor. From our hostile professors, we learned how to negotiate seemingly insurmountable situations and odds. Both types of professors, as well as the complacent and apathetic ones in the middle, were precursors for the types of barriers, opportunities and people we would encounter for the rest of our lives.
That is why we delight in introducing you to some rising stars in the academy. Each of these professors, as well as the hundreds of others they represent, traveled their own unique path to get to where they are today. In addition to the expertise in their respective fields, they bring something more. They bring a perspective that has been honed because they are faculty of color. To say that they are role models is an understatement. Their very presence refutes stereotypes that students, based on media typecast, bring to the classroom.
