FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Dr. Melvin C. Terrell (MCT) Educational Foundation, Inc. is pleased to announce the selection of Tim Herd and Cateatra Mallard as the recipients of the 2025 MCT Scholarship.

“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. It’s an honor to support such vital work by two exemplars of the foundation’s mission,” said the foundation chair, Dr. Martino Harmon.

The MCT Foundation was created to ensure that underrepresented students gain access and achieve success in higher education and student affairs. The MCT Foundation provides spaces and avenues for current and future student affairs professionals to address higher education’s most pressing issues.

The MCT Foundation presents scholarships 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.

“Mr. Herd and Ms. Mallard, each in their own way, represent the very best of the academy. 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. I am proud to celebrate their achievements and confident that their work will continue to shape the future of higher education in meaningful and lasting ways,” said foundation namesake and foundation chair emeritus, Dr. Melvin C. Terrell.

Tim Herd is a Ph.D. candidate and Wasserman Fellow in the Higher Education & Organizational Change program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His research seeks to identify how university governing boards develop policies and examine the implications of these policies on the persistence and completion rates of historically underrepresented students. Tim is also the founder of two organizations, Rising Black Men and the Grosse Pointe Black Alumni Association, the latter of which is a non-profit in which he currently serves as President/CEO.

Cateatra 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 centers on the sense of belonging of Hispanic and Latino/a students at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs) and seeks to understand how institutional culture, climate, and support systems influence persistence for these student populations.

Students who want to take advantage of this opportunity or future scholarship opportunities should visit mctfoundation.org.