The Dr. Melvin C. Terrell (MCT) Educational Foundation, Inc. is pleased to announce the selection of Dion T. Harry and Joshua D. Wallace as the recipients of the 2023 MCT Scholarship. “It is with great pride and a profound sense of responsibility that we award this scholarship each year. We wholeheartedly believe that these two inspiring individuals will work to pioneer influential changes in higher education, perpetuating our foundation’s central mission and Dr. Terrell’s lasting legacy,” said foundation chair, Dr. Martino Harmon. The Dr. Melvin C. Terrell Educational Foundation, Inc. serves as a beacon for student affairs professionals addressing the issues and needs of today’s college students. The MCT Foundation was created to ensure underrepresented students gain access and achieve success in higher education and student affairs. “The MCT Educational Foundation continues to push forward the envelope to provide avenues for the next generation of higher education and student affairs leaders to excel, matriculate, and increase engaging research within the field. These two promising leaders are sure to make a great mark in higher education and student affairs,” said the foundation scholarship committee chair, Dr. Tymon M. Graham. The scholarship is given annually to matriculating graduate students in a master’s or doctoral program in Student Affairs or a Higher Education Administration related program to further the recipient’s academic pursuits. “I want to acknowledge and celebrate the significant contributions the MCT Scholarship recipients will made in our beloved profession. These individuals will be trailblazers in bringing people together to think and write strategically about complex challenges facing higher education,” said foundation namesake and foundation chair emeritus, Dr. Melvin C. Terrell.

Joshua D. Wallace is a PhD candidate in the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis with a doctoral minor in Gender & Women Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition, he serves as a Research Associate in the Wisconsin’s Equity & Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB). His research uses qualitative methodologies and critical theoretical frameworks to: (1) examine how Black men develop their identities (e.g., race, gender, academic discipline) in the engineering discipline and beyond; and, (2) critically explore masculinities in higher education. His dissertation is a phenomenological qualitative study that uses Black feminist theoretical frameworks to explore how Black men in graduate engineering programs exert agency within the dominant masculinities of the discipline.

Dion T. Harry is a current doctoral candidate at North Carolina State University in the Higher Education Opportunity, Equity, and Justice concentration of the Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development program. The foundation of his research and career aspirations focuses on bringing light to the experiences of marginalized communities navigating higher education and contributing to the work to make learning environments more equitable, inclusive, and enriching for these communities. Much of Dion’s research focuses on advocating for and amplifying the experiences and well-being of marginalized communities in education, with a specific focus on Black queer and trans students and educators, marginalized communities in STEM, and students at community and technical colleges.

Students wanting to take advantage of this opportunity or other scholarship opportunities in the future should visit www.mctfoundation.org.