A Scholarship of the Underserved to Inspire Equity

Dr. Tryan L. McMickens’s scholarship centers on historically marginalized and underserved populations that suffer from inequities, particularly in higher education.

The research is rich and ever-manifesting on college campuses for McMickens, an associate professor of higher education and the director of the M.S.Ed. in Higher Education Administration Program at North Carolina Central University, an historically Black university in Durham, North Carolina.

Dr. Tryan L. McMickensDuring an interview with Diverse, McMickens recalls an op-ed column written by a Black student in The Daily Pennsylvanian, the University of Pennsylvania student newspaper. He says the piece detailed racist acts the student experienced after a late walk back to his on-campus residence hall.

“Four white peers questioned the student’s belonging to Penn, requested directions from him about the whereabouts of fried chicken, and referred to him as an n-word,” says McMickens, noting that the column inspired a silent student-organized, anti-racism demonstration comprising some 200 students, faculty members, and administrators.

“While this was fascinating, I cannot help but to think about how Penn students of color are prepared to respond to racism,” he says.

McMickens ponders a potential-but-unfortunate outcome may be conferred to undergraduate students who attend historically white colleges and universities. They are prepared to respond to racism, he says, but “what about those students who attend and graduate from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs)?”

The research question is a primary mode of inquiry for him.