Picturing Racial Battle Fatigue among Black Postsecondary Students
Using photo-elicitation methodology, we investigate the impact of racial battle fatigue on the academic success of Black undergraduate and graduate students and identify support strategies to reduce racial battle fatigue and support academic success among this population.
Research Team
Dr. Stephen Quaye, Co-PI
Stephen John Quaye is Associate Dean for Excellence in Graduate and Postdoctoral Training at The Ohio State University. Stephen oversees a team of professionals committed to advancing the recruitment, retention, and professional development of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars at OSU; developing innovative funding structures to support talented and diverse graduate students and postdoctoral scholars; and examining Graduate School policies to ensure they are equitable and remove barriers for success. Prior to joining the Graduate School as an Associate Dean, Stephen was a Professor and Program Chair of the Higher Education and Student Affairs Program at The Ohio State University.
Neal J. McKinney, Graduate Research Assistant
Neal McKinney, M.Ed. (he/him/his) is a doctoral candidate in Educational Studies at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. His doctoral research agenda broadly centers critical theories on race (e.g., critical race theory, critical whiteness studies) to identify and study racist policies and practices that view students of color as undeserving of an education. His current research investigates how education abroad personnel construct narratives of why Black and Latinx students participate in education abroad programs at a lower rate to identify potential patterns of racialized deficit-based thinking in these narratives.
Hunter V. J. Jones, Graduate Research Assistant
Hunter Jones is a second-year master’s student in the Higher Education and Student Affairs program at The Ohio State University. She studied human development and journalism at Washington State University before serving as an AmeriCorps member in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hunter’s experiences serving members of her communities with marginalized identities led to her interest in higher education access and equity. Her research interests include the impact of racial battle fatigue on the experiences of Black collegians and perfectionism as a symptom of racial battle fatigue. H
Na’eem Allen-Stills, Graduate Research Assistant
Na’eem C. Allen-Stills is a second-year Higher Education and Student Affairs master’s student at The Ohio State University and obtained his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. His lived experiences being a Black male from Philadelphia, PA, navigating feelings of imposter syndrome, and being the only Black student in spaces while attending predominately white institutions inspired his research interest in the collegiate experiences of Black students. He has devoted himself to serving as a mentor and an advocate for academia’s most vulnerable student demographics; first-generation students, low-income students, and students with minoritized racial identities.
Racial Battle Fatigue Among Black College Athletes
Black male college athletes enrolled at historically white institutions (HWIs) may be faced with numerous challenges such as racism, hostile campus environments, and exploitative systemic practices. Our collaborative work acknowledges these challenges as we examine how Black male college athletes experience and respond to racial battle fatigue. By incorporating higher education, social psychology, and sport sociology/management perspectives, we provide critical interdisciplinary theoretical and practical advances that will serve to improve the experiences of Black male college athletes at HWIs.
Dr. Jonathan Howe, Co-PI
Dr. Jonathan Howe is an assistant professor at Temple University in the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management. His research centers broadly on the intersections of race, sport, and education—focusing on Black male college athletes as well as Black coaches and athletic administrators. One of his research goals is to bridge the gap between scholarship and practice within collegiate athletics and higher education institutions.
Scarlet & Gray Advantage: Investigating First Year Students’ Financial and Academic Stress and Wellness
The Scarlet & Gray Advantage aims to: improve students’ access to scholarships, on-campus employment, and other forms of financial support; improve students’ financial wellness, including their financial knowledge, behaviors, awareness, and stress; and improve students’ academic success and overall well-being. In this study we investigate how participation in the Scarlet & Gray Advantage pilot program influence students’ financial and academic stress and wellness.
Research Team
Kristen J. Mills, Ph.D. 