The Dr. Melvin C. Terrell (MCT) Educational Foundation, Inc. has selected Tim Herd and Cateatra Mallard as recipients of its MCT Scholarship, recognizing two doctoral candidates whose research addresses some of higher education's most pressing equity challenges.
Tim Herd
Mallard is a Ph.D. candidate in the Executive Ph.D. in Urban Higher Education program at Jackson State University and serves as Director of the Efferson Student Union & Activities at Florida A&M University. Her research focuses on the sense of belonging among Hispanic and Latino/a students at both Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities, exploring how institutional culture, climate, and support systems shape persistence for those student populations.
Foundation chair Dr. Martino Harmon said the two scholars exemplify the foundation's core mission. 
Cateatra Mallard
"Each year, rising scholars like Mr. Herd and Ms. Mallard remind us of the importance of investing not only in knowledge but also in a deeper understanding of how the needs, challenges, and opportunities in higher education have a real and lasting impact on society as a whole," said Harmon, who is also the vice president of student affairs at the University of Michigan.
The foundation was established to expand access and support success for underrepresented students in higher education and student affairs. It awards scholarships annually to matriculating graduate students enrolled in master's or doctoral programs in student affairs or higher education administration.
Dr. Melvin C. Terrell, the foundation's namesake and chair emeritus, praised both recipients for the purpose-driven nature of their scholarship.
"Together, their contributions remind us that scholarship is most powerful when it is grounded in purpose and connected to the lived realities of the communities we serve," Terrell said.
