DIVERSITY

Transform the Narratives

"I have embraced the campus communities that look much like the world."

—   Ollie L. Jefferson, Ph.D.

At the onset of the 2020 decade, the narratives on social media posts and protests for systemic change illustrate the global demand for understanding underserved populations and communities. I am committed to engaging a diverse population by contributing to research, service, and teaching in the communication discipline. My professorship began with a diverse student population representing 103 countries worldwide at Prince George's Community College. My academic career has since expanded to serving and teaching diverse students at research-oriented institutions such as Howard University, George Mason University, and the University of Maryland at College Park. I have embraced the campus communities that look much like the world. I possess substantial and practical teaching experience with multicultural student populations. Students have cultural differences and similarities in gender, race, age, religion, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, nationality, economic status, political leaning, and more. 

I have an understanding of the barriers for underrepresented students and faculty within the discipline. I am the first member of my immediate and extended family (paternal and maternal) to earn a bachelor's degree. I have paved the way for others as my daughters earn bachelor's and master's degrees. My unique life experiences as a parent and first-generation African American woman graduate (BA, MA, and Ph.D.) have enhanced my classroom knowledge of culturally sensitive issues. I am passionate about inspiring diverse student populations to overcome obstacles to achieve their goals. 

My distinct experiences as a professor and practitioner have made me even more conscientious of diversity, inclusion, and equity. My sustained personal engagement with the academic community started at Johnson C. Smith University, an institution founded initially to educate Black students during racial segregation. During the academic year, I wrote, directed, produced, and performed in a theatrical stage play for undergraduate students to illustrate ways to confront their differences and recognize their similarities. The Vice President of Student Affairs requested the coming-of-age drama, Can I Get a Witness, back by popular demand. The encore performance made headlines in the Charlotte Post. The production started as a campus-based activity that grew into a community success and fueled my drive to create conversation and educate. 

My passion for teaching and mentoring diverse students is to inspire young scholars to become community leaders in their fields of study. My teaching methods and academic interests are inclusive and culturally sensitive. I have not only made claims to support underrepresented students. I support industry professionals by establishing an arts education organization to extend interactive learning and opportunities to underserved populations. The multimedia organization supports a diverse student population in achieving artistic and scholarly success. My professional practice comprises multiethnic, multiracial, multicultural, and bilingual students gaining knowledge and skills in new and emerging media.

I have successfully balanced my roles as an industry professional and a professor as a critical cultural scholar. My research in communication studies focuses on the intersection of race and gender, particularly issues facing women of color nationally and internationally. I have made contributions to media and academia, as demonstrated by the analysis and publication, African American Women in the Oprah Winfrey Network’s Queen Sugar Drama: Exemplary Representations on Screen and Behind the Scenes. The monograph aims to counter stereotypes and narratives through culturally sensitive and conscious decision-making. My academic work broadens our understanding of the arts and entertainment industry's need for culturally sensitive and conscious inclusion of women and people of color behind the scenes—as media owners, creators, writers, directors, and producers—to put an end to the persistent and pervasive misrepresentations on screen. The text contributes to diversity and equal opportunity research for social and systemic change. 

My goal and aspirations are to teach and conduct research that will produce a body of knowledge that will change the narratives and perceptions of traditionally marginalized groups represented in media, often to the detriment of society. My teaching, research, and service commitments contribute to equity in the campus community. I have expertise in developing cross-cultural communication and collaboration within the student population. Teaching critical subjects for students to understand underserved populations and communities can transform the narratives of social media posts and protests during this decade and decades to come for systemic change.