As a Black woman, my lived experiences inform my research interests. It is important that I engage in Sankofa as an academician to ensure that those who look like me know that this opportunity is also for them. Service is sovereignty.
Leslie Ekpe, Ph.D. Assistant Professor
- Faculty
Higher Education and Learning Technology
Leslie U. Ekpe (she/her/hers) is an assistant professor at Texas A&M University-Commerce in the Department of Higher Education and Learning Technologies. Before her current role, Leslie earned her Ph.D. in Higher Educational Leadership from Texas Christian University. Her dissertation study, “The Test Does Not Define My Ability”: A Critical Narrative Study on the Experiences of First-Year Black College Students Who Took the SAT When Pursuing Selective Four-Year Institutions, was awarded first place in the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) 2023 Holmes Program Dissertation Funding Competition.
Through qualitative methodologies, Dr. Ekpe conducts research on anti-racism, DEI and racial equity by analyzing the challenges encountered by marginalized peoples, as well as investigating equitable practices and policies for institutions and societies to implement and sustain. She is the current secretary for the Council on Ethnic Participation (CEP) within the Association of the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), a Visiting Scholar at Rutgers University’s Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice, and a community fellow for BRAVE/R Together 76104, a grassroots initiative located in Fort Worth, Texas, focused on eliminating racial disparities in housing, business/economic development, healthcare, and education.
Educational Background
- Ph.D., Higher Educational Leadership, Texas Christian University, 2023
- MBA, Business Administration, Sam Houston State University, 2016
- M.A., Communication Management, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2015
- B.S., Management, Alabama A&M University, 2014
Awards and Honors
- University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) National Alumni Society's Young Alumni Rising Star Award, 2024
- Faculty Development Grant ($700), Texas A&M University-Commerce, Spring 2024
- Faculty-Led Student Initiative ($1,250 grant), Texas A&M University-Commerce, Spring 2024
- Faculty-Led Student Initiative ($1,250 grant), Texas A&M University-Commerce, Fall 2023
Research Interests
- Anti-racism
- Minority-serving institutions
- Racial Equity