Kimberly A. Griffin

Research Interests

Access and retention within graduate education and the professoriate, African American students and faculty, the nature and influence of faculty-student relationships and mentoring, access and college experiences of Black immigrants, campus racial climate

Bio

Dr. Kimberly Griffin is a Professor in the Higher Education, Student Affairs, and International Education Policy Program (Student Affairs Area of Specialization). She also serves as the editor of the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. Dr. Griffin earned her doctoral degree in Higher Education and Organizational Change from UCLA, her Master's degree in Education Policy and Leadership at the University of Maryland, and her Bachelors degree from Stanford University in Psychology. Prior to completing her doctoral work, Dr. Griffin worked in higher education administration, primarily focusing in the areas of diversity recruitment, admissions, and retention in undergraduate and graduate education.

Dr. Griffin's research interests are primarily focused in three areas: diversity and equity in graduate education and the professoriate; diversity within the Black higher education community; and mentoring and career development. These interests have led her to conduct work on a variety of topics, including: career development of Ph.D. completers in science, Black professors and their engagement in student interaction, the experiences of Black immigrant college students, diversity recruitment in graduate education, and campus racial climate. Dr. Griffin is skilled in advanced quantitative and qualitative methods, as well as the integration of these strategies in mixed methods research.

Dr. Griffin is an active scholar and researcher, engaged widely in efforts to promote diversity and equity in higher education. Her research has been funded by the Burroughs Welcome Fund, National Institutes of Health, and National Science Foundation. Her work has been published widely, and has appeared in the Review of Higher Education, Journal of College Student Development, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, and Journal of Negro Education. Dr. Griffin's work also contributes to national conversations on equity and inclusion, and she has collaborated and consulted with the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, National Academies, American Council on Education, and the Council of Graduate Schools to discuss extant research and new initiatives.

Fellowships

Honors & Awards

Diamond Honoree, ACPA Foundation, 2020

Outstanding Mentor to Graduate Students, ACPA Graduate Students and New Professionals Community of Practice, 2018

Early Career Award, Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), 2013

Distinguished Alumni Scholar, Stanford University, 2013

Emerging Scholar Award, ACPA - College Student Educators International, 2010

Outstanding Dissertation Award, Department of Education, College of Education and Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, California, 2008

Publications

Books and Recent Chapters

Griffin, K.A. (2020). Looking beyond the pipeline: Institutional barriers, strategies, and benefits to increasing the representation of women and men of color in the professoriate. In L. Perna (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (vol. 35). Switzerland: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31365-4_4.

Griffin, K.A., Gibbs, K.D., Jr., & English, S. (2020). Being one of few: Examining Black biomedical PhDs’ training experiences and career development through a campus racial climate lens. In P. Felder, M. Barker, & M. Gasman (Eds.), SANKOFA: Exploring the racial and cultural implications for doctoral education from the African American perspective (pp. 111-138). Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Griffin, K.A. (2020). Rethinking mentoring: Integrating equity-minded practice in promoting access to and outcomes of developmental relationships. In A. Kezar & J. Posselt (Eds.), Higher education administration for social justice and equity in higher education: Critical perspectives for leadership and decision-making (pp. 93-110). New York, NY: Routledge Press.

Museus, S.D., Griffin, K.A., Quaye, S.J. (2020). Engaging students of color. In S.J. Quaye, S.R. Harper, S.L. Pendakur (Eds.), Student engagement in higher education: Theoretical perspectives and practical approaches for diverse populations (3^rd ed, pp. 17-36). New York, NY: Routledge.

Crisp, G., Baker, V. L., Griffin, K. A., Lunsford, L. G., Pifer, M. J. (2017). Mentoring undergraduate students. ASHE Higher Education Report (vol. 43, no. 1). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Griffin, K. A., & Museus, S. (Eds.). (2011). Using mixed-methods to study intersectionality in higher education. New Directions in Institutional Research (no. 151). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Allen, W. R., Kimura-Walsh, E., & Griffin, K. A. (Eds.). (2009). Towards a brighter tomorrow: College barriers, hopes and plans of Black, Latina/o and Asian American students in California. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.

Recent Refereed Journal Articles

Griffin, K.A., Hart, J.L., Worthington, R., Belay, K., Yeung, J.G. (2020). Race-related campus activism: How do higher education diversity professionals respond? Review of Higher Education, 43(2), 667-696.

Feldon, D. F., Litson, K., Jeong, S., Blaney, J. M., Kang, J., Miller, C., Griffin, K. A., & Roksa, J. (2019). Postdocs’ lab engagement predicts trajectories of PhD students’ skill development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(42), 20910-20916.

O’Meara, K., Griffin, K.A., Nyunt, G., & Lounder, A. (2019). Disrupting ruling relations: The role of PROMISE as a third space. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 12(3), 205-218.

Daoud, N., George Mwangi, English, S., & Griffin, K. (2018). Beyond stereotypes: Examining the role of social identities in the motivation patterns of Black immigrant and Black native students. American Journal of Education, 124(3), 285-312.

Griffin, K.A., Baker, V.L., O’Meara, K.A., Nyunt, G., Robinson, T., Staples, C. (2018). Supporting scientists from underrepresented backgrounds: Mapping developmental networks. Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, 9(1), 19-37.

George Mwangi, C., Daoud, N., English, S., & Griffin, K.A. (2017). Me and my family: Ethnic differences and familial influences on academic motivations of Black collegians. Journal of Negro Education, 86(4), 479-493.

O’Meara, K., Griffin, K.A., Kuvaeva, A., Nyunt, G., & Robinson, T. (2017). Sense of belonging and its contributing factors in graduate education. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 12, 251-279.

Griffin, K.A., Cunningham, E., & George Mwangi, C. (2016). Defining diversity: Ethnic differences in Black students’ perceptions of racial climate. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 9(1), 34-49.

Griffin, K.A., Muniz, M., Smith, E.J. (2016). Graduate diversity officers and efforts to retain students of color. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 53(1), 26-38.

Gibbs Jr., K.D., McReady, J., Griffin, K.A. (2015). Career development among American biomedical postdocs. CBE Life Sciences Education, 14(4). doi: 10.1187/cbe.15-03-0075

Griffin, K. A., Gibbs Jr., K.D., Bennett, J.C., Staples, C., Robinson, T. (2015). “Respect me for my science”: A Bourdieuan analysis of women scientists' interactions with faculty and socialization into science. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 21(2), 159-179.

Griffin, K.A., & Gilbert, C. (2015). Better transitions for troops: An application of Schlossberg’s Transition Framework to analyses of barriers and institutional support structures for student veterans. Journal of Higher Education, 86(1), 71-97.

Griffin, K. A., & McIntosh, K. (2015). Finding a fit: Understanding Black immigrant students’ engagement in campus activities. Journal of College Student Development, 56(3), 243-260.

Griffin, K.A., & Muniz, M. (2015). Rethinking the structure of student recruitment and efforts to increase racial and ethnic diversity in doctoral education. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 10, 199-216.

Gibbs Jr., K.D., McReady, J., Bennett, J.C., & Griffin, K.A. (2014). Biomedical science Ph.D. career interest patterns by race/ethnicity and gender. PLOS One, 9(12). http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0114736

Baker, V., Pifer, M., & Griffin, K.A. (2014). Mentor-protégé fit: Identifying and developing effective mentorship across identities in doctoral education. International Journal for Researcher Development, 5(2), 83-98.

Monographs, Reports and Extension Publications

Griffin, K.A., & George Mwangi, C. (2016). Similar, but not the same: Considering the intersections of race, ethnicity, and nativity in the lives of Black students prepared for the Racial Heterogeneity Project, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.

Griffin, K.A., & Gilbert, C. (2012). Easing the transition from combat to classroom: Preserving America’s investment in higher education for military veterans through institutional assessment. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress.

Heller, D. E., Hendrickson, R., Griffin, K., Timmerman, T., Gilbert, C. (2011). Veterans Education in Science and Engineering: Evaluation Design prepared for the National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA.

Allen, W. R., Griffin, K. A., Wolf, D. (2006). The Freshwomen of Spelman: 25 Years of Trends in Achievement, Values, and Aspirations prepared for the Board of Trustees of Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia.

Allen, W. R., Jayakumar, U. M., Griffin, K. A., Korn, W., Hurtado, S. (2005). Black undergraduates from Bakke to Grutter: Freshmen status, trends and prospects, 1971- 2004. Los Angeles, CA: Higher Education Research Institute.

Grants & Projects

Co-Principal Investigator, NSF INCLUDES Alliance: An Alliance to Develop an Inclusive and Diverse National Faculty for Broadening Success of Underrepresented 2-Year and 4-Year STEM Students

This NSF grant supports the formation of Aspire: The National Alliance for Inclusive and Diverse STEM Faculty, which will integrate multiple strategies to both develop early career STEM faculty and promote diversity and inclusion in the contexts in which faculty work. The research team will examine if and how organizational and individual actors respond to these activities and how these initiatives promote individual and institutional change, particularly around increasing diversity in the STEM professoriate.

Co-Principal Investigator, Trajectories into Early Career Research

The research team has been funded by the NSF EHR Core research program to continue a longitudinal study of early career scientists as they transition from doctoral programs to their careers in an effort to to effectively prepare and diversify the scientific workforce.

Co-Principal Investigator, APLU INCLUDES: A Collective Impact Approach to Broadening Participation in the STEM Professoriate

APLU will develop tools, resources, and a national alliance to help member institutions increase the number of STEM faculty from underrepresented and traditionally underserved groups, including women, members of minority racial and ethnic groups, persons with disabilities, and persons from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

Co-Principal Investigator, PROMISE AGEP Maryland Transformation Project (social science supplement sub-contract) (2013-2017)

Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), this social science supplement sponsors research on programmatic initiatives supporting the retention and development of graduate students of color throughout the University of Maryland System. Three studies: ethnographic study of the high impact practices, a survey comparing program participants and non-participants, and comparison of mentoring interactions between AGEP participants and non-participants.

Co-Principal Investigator, Assessing the Determinants of Career Choice in Recent Ph.D. Biomedical Scientists from Underrepresented Minority (URM) Backgrounds (2012-2015)
Sponsored by the Burroughs Welcome Fund (BWF) to conduct a mixed methods study of the factors, forces, and structures related to the career choices of PhD biomedical scientists, with an emphasis on understanding the factors that promote successful transitions into and through postdoctoral appointments to independent research careers.