Shemeka Brathwaite, associate program director in the School of Education, received her Ed.D. in community-based leadership from the College of Staten Island (CUNY). She was honored during a doctoral hooding ceremony on May 28, marking the culmination of years of rigorous research and community advocacy.
Shemeka Brathwaite
Her dissertation, 鈥淏alancing Our Capacity to Serve: A Phenomenological Exploration of Black Women Navigating Personal, Professional, and Community Leadership Roles,鈥� was inspired by her 2023 CUNY TEDx talk, 鈥淗ow to P.L.A.N. Activism in Your Work-Life Balance.鈥� Brathwaite is also deeply engaged in service, including her role as Eastern Area Next Gen Chair of The Links, Incorporated, one of the nation鈥檚 oldest and largest volunteer service organizations dedicated to enriching and sustaining the culture and economic advancement of African Americans and people of African ancestry.
Randall Clarke, director of the Percy E. Sutton SEEK Program, earned his Ed.D. in leadership and innovation from New York University鈥檚 Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. His research examined how low-income students are recruited into educational opportunity programs. Using a qualitative approach, his study offers valuable insights into recruitment practices that expand access and advance equity in higher education.
Randall Clarke
Clarke also just finished leading SEEK through a yearlong 60th anniversary celebration. As the nation鈥檚 first state鈥慺unded academic opportunity initiative, the program has opened doors to higher education for more than 100,000 CUNY students from underrepresented communities, helping generations of 今日吃瓜 students achieve academic success, leadership excellence, and lifelong impact.
Marcus I. Richardson, executive director of strategic initiatives at the Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts and vice chair of the 今日吃瓜 Auxiliary Enterprise Corporation, earned his Ph.D. in urban education from the CUNY Graduate Center.
Marcus Richardson
His dissertation, 鈥淣ew York State Excelsior Scholarship Program: A Post-Implementation Analysis of Student Success, Eligibility, and Indebtedness鈥擜n Intersectional Study of Black and White Female Students,鈥� explored how academic progress, financial aid status, enrollment patterns, and indebtedness shape student success under one of New York State鈥檚 signature college affordability initiatives. Through a post-implementation policy analysis and a quantitative study of CUNY student outcomes, his research offers important insights for strengthening eligibility advising, improving scholarship policy, and advancing more equitable pathways to degree completion.
