Associate Professor in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development at the University of Minnesota
About
Tania D. Mitchell is an associate professor of Higher Education at the University of Minnesota. An internationally recognized scholar of community engagement, her research focuses on service-learning as a critical pedagogy to explore civic identity and leadership, social justice, student learning and development, race and racism, and community practice. She interrogates practices in Higher Education that aim to contribute to a more just world. Her scholarship has been published in numerous books and journals and she is the editor of four books, most recently Black Women and Social Justice Education: Legacies and Lessons (SUNY Press, 2019).
Current Work:
Dr. Mitchell's work is primarily focused on practices employed in colleges and universities that purport to advance equity and social justice. This includes research on the relationships between campus and community, how institutions use public engagement strategies to respond to diversity commitments, and students' participation in community service. She has prioritized a critical approach to community engagement that is focused on redressing the power inequities inherent in service relationships to advance community desires for social change. Her current work explores the experiences of students who are hyper (or multiply) marginalized in Higher Education and the ways their educational experiences support or hinder their leadership journeys. This research considers institutional efforts that support or punish student activists, classroom experiences, interactions with administrators, and involvement in student organizations as opportunities that serve to facilitate or hinder students.
Research Area(s):
- social justice education; community engagement; leadership; student development; minoritized students in Higher Education
