Dr. Steve D. Mobley, Jr., Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration in the Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Technology Studies (ELPTS) at The University of Alabama was selected for the Class of 2021-2023 ACPA Emerging Scholar-Designee. He is one of five recipients selected as a result of a national competition. Recipients will receive a $3,000 research grant from ACPA. Upon fulfilling the research and scholarly leadership commitments, by the end of the two-year term he will receive the ACPA Emerging Scholars Award.
For the leadership commitments required by the award, Dr. Mobley will serve as a scholar-in-residence, collaborate with a current Senior Scholar, and serve as a reviewer for the Journal of College Student Development.
As required by the Award, Dr. Mobley plans to advance his research trajectory on a project that seeks to meaningfully address and disrupt the realities of how Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) administrators have and continue to serve as advocates for queer and trans* inclusion on their respective campuses. Using diverse and varied qualitative methods, he will critique the ways that Blackness has been “allowed” to be performed in HBCUs, but also understand how HBCU administrators are also intervening and challenging the heteropatriarchy, and cis-heteronormativity, that is present within these distinct postsecondary contexts.
As a scholar, Dr. Mobley advocates for institutional and interpersonal equity by amplifying the voices of underserved communities. His research interests lie at the intersections of race, social class, and sexuality, particularly among marginalized students, faculty, and administrators who are present in higher education contexts. He is interested in the intra-racial nuances within Black communities – an often overlooked area of study in higher education research, that regularly renders Black communities as a monolith. His work employs a range of methodological approaches, which include critical, interpretive, and sociological methods, and frames the problems theoretically by applying interdisciplinary perspectives from various disciplines and applied fields.
Peter Hlebowitsh, Dean of the College of Education at The University of Alabama observed that “Professor Mobley’s work has brought a new sensibility to our college, focusing as it does on diversity claims that have helped us to build a discourse community resulting in an empowered sense of understanding. His scholarship has proven to be a gift to our students and to the wider College of Education community.”
Dr. Mobley earned his bachelor’s degree in communication and culture from Howard University, a master’s degree in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania, and Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Leadership from the University of Maryland, College Park.