Dr. Roshaunda Breeden
When Breeden first arrived on campus, she was searching for a sense of belonging and found that and more as she navigated toward a calling to transform student affairs, advance equity, and reimagine the relationship between universities and Black communities.
“It feels like a dream come true,” says Breeden, who is an assistant professor of higher education opportunity, equity, and justice at NC State. “When I was a freshman in Lee Hall, I never thought in my wildest dreams as a low-income person, first-generation college student, Black woman, that I would years later become a faculty member on the campus.”
While originally unplanned, Breeden’s introduction to student affairs came through the Multicultural Student Affairs Office and the African American Cultural Center, where she met mentors who would guide her trajectory in higher education. Encouragement from these mentors led her to pursue a master’s degree in College Student Affairs Administration at the University of Georgia (UGA), which set the foundation for her career dedicated to student advocacy.
After receiving her master’s, Breeden worked in student affairs at Spelman College, North Carolina Central University (NCCU), and NC State. In these roles, she soon recognized a larger issue—many of the systemic challenges that her students faced could not be solved through one-on-one advising alone. Determined to address these barriers, she returned to UGA to pursue a doctorate, shifting her focus to policy change.
“When I think about policy, I think about some of the basic things like ‘Who has access to campus? Who has access to resources? How can Black folks, in various positions across campus, get access to courses and professional development without having to seek permission from someone,’” ask Breeden.
Breeden’s research is personal. She grew up immersed on a college campus—her grandfather was a custodian at Winston Salem State University, where her mother later earned her degree.
“My mom pretty much grew up on that campus, and because she grew up on that campus, once she had me, I then grew up on that campus,” Breeden remembers. “I had notebooks and sweatshirts, but also participated in programs all the time… Even though I didn’t go to Winston Salem State, they taught me how to apply to other colleges while I was there, so that showed me what our campuses had the possibility of doing.”
