Pacific Lutheran University announcement.
Experimental psychologist Rihana Mason will visit PLU on May 2 to discuss the work of the Academic Pipeline Project and her book, “Academic Pipeline Programs: Diversifying Pathways from the Bachelors to the Professoriate.” Mason is a research scientist at the Urban Child Study Center at Georgia State University and an adjunct professor at Spelman College.
PLU Dean of Social Sciences Michelle Ceynar, a co-organizer of the event, says that Mason’s talk will cover issues that PLU has been working to address. “Dr. Mason’s book, as well as her extensive experience in this area, will inform PLU and the wider community about what experts have learned to be the best practices for supporting and encouraging disadvantaged students throughout their academic careers so that they experience higher education as a place they belong and are valued and subsequently pursue a variety of professions,” says Ceynar.
Department Chair of Psychology Jon Grahe agrees. “Mason’s work echoes the goals of PLU to identify and enable pathways toward a more equitable future,” says Grahe. “Her book, and larger message, can help us navigate challenges and assist us in overcoming them.”
Co-founded by Mason, The Academic Pipeline Project (APP) is an Atlanta-based organization that educates audiences through webinars, trainings, and consulting services about the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion practices and initiatives. APP provides customized services to parents, students, programs, and institutions of higher learning and its programs seek to propel underrepresented minority students along their educational journey by providing programming related to research, career and life preparation.
Mason’s visit to PLU is sponsored by the PLU Center for Graduate and Continuing Education, Department of Psychology, Division of Social Sciences, and Division of Natural Sciences.
