Terrell Lamont Strayhorn, PhD
Terrell Lamont Strayhorn, PhD is one of the most prolific and influential contemporary scholars in the fields of higher education, urban education, and the academic study of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB).
Named one of the country’s “Top Diversity Scholars” by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education and a “Bridge-Builder” between academic- and student affairs by ACPA’s Commission, Strayhorn has authored 11 books, including College Students’ Sense of Belonging (2019, 2nd ed), and over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and nationally-circulated reports. His research has been cited, circulated, or funded by the most premiere sociopolitical agencies in the world including Lumina Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, National Science Foundation, and European Association of Institutional Research (EAIR), among others.
He has served as ACPA Director of Research & Scholarship, Chair of AERA’s Research Focus on Black Education Special Interest Group (SIG), Chair of ASHE’s Council on Ethnic Participation, and currently serves on the Children’s Defense Fund’s Research Advisory Board for Freedom Schools. A respected thought-leader, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, Huffington Post, and Diverse often quotes his perspective and research findings. He has advised hundreds of university presidents, school leaders, and corporations on ways to boost belonging, achieve DEIB targets, and improve organizational health.
Professionally, Strayhorn is a Professor of Higher Education at Illinois State University, having served in a number of significant faculty and academic leadership roles at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, The Ohio State University, LeMoyne-Owen College, and Virginia Union University. He is a Diversity Scholar-in-Residence at Harrisburg College, Fellow in VUU’s Center for the Study of HBCUs, and Faculty Affiliate in Rutgers’ Center for MSIs.
He earned his bachelors in music and religious studies from the University of Virginia (UVA), masters in education policy from UVA, and a Ph.D. in education from Virginia Tech.