Hines, Wilson named fellows with Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

LAWRENCE — The Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Fellows Program at the University of Kansas has returned with two fellows who began their two-year appointment earlier this month.

Faculty fellow Dorothy Hines and staff fellow Michelle Wilson are serving their appointments under the theme of intersectional leadership, which aligns their research and contributions with the institutional goals of Realizing Intersection Standards of Excellence (RISE).

As fellows, Hines and Wilson are helping the DEIB office facilitate the goal of achieving diversity, equity and inclusion in all aspects of the campus climate, administration, teaching, service and institutional alignments. Specifically, the fellows contribute to the development of the DEIB RISE Toolbox, which has educational materials for students, staff, faculty and administrators.

Hines is an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum & Teaching in the School of Education & Human Sciences and in the Department of African & African-American Studies in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. Wilson is the assistant director of academic and professional development with the TRIO SES & STEM program, a doctoral candidate in communication studies and an instructor with the Institute for Leadership Studies.

“We are very excited to have Dr. Hines and Michelle join us in the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging,” said Nicole Hodges Persley, vice provost for DEIB. “Their social, cultural and academic excellence in discourses makes them ideal DEIB Fellows. They will help the office raise campus consciousness around intersectional leadership.”

Hines’ research examines how girls of color navigate boundaries of race, gender and dehumanization to thrive in educational spaces that have historically disadvantaged them. Her scholarship explores the carceral effects of educational policies and school discipline practices on Black girlhood and Black joy. She draws from intersectionality, feminism and theories of Blackness to map students' educational trajectories through narrative.

Previously, Hines served as a teaching fellow at Harvard University. At KU, she was named a 2018 Social Justice Fellow and in 2019 received a Community Engaged Scholarship Award. She also is the recipient of the 2016 Paula Silver Case Award from the University Council of Educational Administrators (UCEA).

Hines received a doctorate in education policy from Michigan State University. She holds a master's degree in public administration from North Carolina Central University and a bachelor's degree in political science from North Carolina State University. 

Wilson’s research and academic expertise is in organizational communication, organizational culture, social identity, workplace power dynamics, workplace bullying and toxic/hostile work environments. Her research has focused on higher education as an institutional context. She includes a diversity, equity and inclusion lens in her research, training and coaching work.  

Within Staff Senate, Wilson is a senator and chair of the personnel affairs committee. She is also a member of the KU DEIB Campus Council and was a 2021-2022 KU Staff Fellow. Wilson is a member and former president of KU Black Faculty and Staff Council. She is a KU FIRST staff adviser, KU Black Alumni Network president-elect and young alumni/student programs co-chair. Wilson is membership coordinator for the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA) Heartland Chapter.

Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from KU and a master’s degree in liberal studies with an emphasis in public administration from Washburn University.