RESEARCH
OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH AGENDA:
My research agenda is primarily concerned with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues in higher education. I employ qualitative methodologies and critical and organizational theories to broadly: 1) explore how students, faculty, and staff social identities (e.g., race, gender, sexuality, class, religious identities) intersect and influence their time in higher education environments and 2) conduct organizational analyses of the role and responsibility higher education institutions play in facilitating the experiences of historically underrepresented students, faculty, and staff. Together, I use these two strands to illuminate the complexities of institutional members' identities, describe their lived experiences, and hold institutions accountable for advancing policies and practices that promote equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Research Areas of Interest and Expertise:
College student Race, gender, class, and other social identities
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual+ (LGBTQIA+) issues in higher education
Men of color (with an emphasis on Black college men) in higher education and their varied collegiate experiences
College health and wellness outcomes for LGBTQIA+ college students of color at HBCUs and Predominately White Institutions (PWIs)
LGBTQIA+ student experiences with access to mental and physical healthcare
LGBTQIA+ student health promotion and prevention
College healthcare professional cultural and professional development
College healthcare policies and services
College access and success outcomes
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Other Racially+ Equity Serving Institutions
Organizational leadership, change management, culture, and climate issues related to the inclusion and liberation of Black LGBTQIA+ individuals.
Black Quare and Trans* Onto-Epistemologies (e.g., Quare theory, Queer of Color Critique, and Black Trans* Feminism)
Qualitative methods (e.g., single and multiple case study methods, critical autoethnography, grounded theory, and narrative inquiry)
RESEARCH GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS
Research Grant Funding:
Vice President for Research and College of Education Seed Grant
Research Project: Exploring Black LGBTQIA+ Student Health, Well-Being, and Success at HBCUs
Funding Amount: $30,763.26
Funding Terms: 2024-2025
Leading Educational Advances in Research and New Technologies Award Program (LEARNT) Grant
Research Project: Institutionalizing Queer and Trans* Student Inclusion at HBCUs
Funding amount: $18,000
Funding term(s): 2022-2023
Research Fellowships:
Research Fellow, Howard University | The Center for HBCU Research, Leadership, and Policy
Research Project: Exploring Black LGBTQIA+ Student Health, Well-being, and Success at HBCUs
Funding Amount: $4,000
Funding Term(s): 2024-2025
National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellow
Research Project: Quaring HBCUs: A Case Study Investigating and Theorizing Queer and Trans* Student Inclusion at Two HBCUs
Funding amount: $27,500
Funding Term(s): 2020-2021
RESEARCH PROJECTS
INSTITUTIONALIZING QUEER AND TRANS* STUDENT INCLUSION AT HBCUs
Overview of Research Project:
The institutionalization of queer and trans* student inclusion initiatives at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) remains a significant challenge for these institutions and void in the literature. Previous research has documented the various ways in which HBCUs have failed to meet the unique needs of their Black queer and trans* student population. Therefore, HBCU stakeholders (e.g., Presidents, Vice Presidents, faculty, and staff) will need to take strategic measures to ensure that multiple units on campus share in the responsibility of fostering an inclusive environment for queer and trans* students. Consequently, this research project will seek to provide an organizational and critical analysis of queer and trans* student inclusion initiatives at HBCUs.
Namely, Kezar and Eckel’s (2002) Transformational Change Process and a Black queer theory framework (Jonhson, 2005; Ferguson, 2004) is applied in this qualitative, multiple case study to investigate and theorize how three HBCU stakeholders work across organizational structures to design and implement inclusion initiatives that center on the lived experiences of Black queer and trans* students at the HBCUs, respectively. Findings from this study seek to expose how HBCU stakeholders utilize the institutional change strategies of solid support from senior leadership, a collaborative process, longstanding training, and the establishment of organizational structures to drive inclusive change. After this research study, recommendations for future research, theory, practice, and policy will be shared.
Publications:
Johnson, J. T., Barrios, A. M., & Johnson, T. R. (2024). Illuminating the Opportunities and Challenges of Institutionalizing Queer and Trans* Student Inclusion Efforts at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Innovative Higher Education, 49(2), 377-395.
Johnson, J. T. (2021). The category is… transformational inclusion: A conceptual framework for (re) imagining the inclusion of black queer and trans* students attending HBCUs. In Reimagining Historically Black Colleges and Universities (pp. 149-159). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Additional Publications (Unrelated to the Project):
Johnson, J. T., Hall, L. D., & Florestal-Kevelier, R. D. (2024). Practical insights from the Human Rights Campaign’s HBCU PrEP peer educator program. Journal of LGBT Youth, 21(2), 406-413.
EXPLORING BLACK LGBTQIA+ STUDENT HEALTH, WELL-BEING, AND SUCCESS AT HBCUS
Overview of Research Project:
This research project will qualitatively explore the health, well-being, and collegiate success affairs of Black LGBTQIA+ students at HBCUs.
Publications:
(Forthcoming)
Additional Publications (Unrelated to the Project):
Johnson, J. T., Hall, L. D., & Florestal-Kevelier, R. D. (2024). Practical insights from the Human Rights Campaign’s HBCU PrEP peer educator program. Journal of LGBT Youth, 21(2), 406-413.
SCHOLAR IDENTITY DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT AMONG BLACK MEN IN EDUCATION
Overview of Research Project:
There is a limited amount of scholarship focused on the experiences of Black men in enrolled in graduate programs. Research on Black men's experiences in graduate engineering programs has highlighted the persons and activities that contribute to their overall success as well as the challenges they encounter in pursuit of graduate engineering degrees (e.g., Burt & Johnson, 2018, Burt et al., 2020). While these studies are needed, additional research on how Black men in graduate degree programs discover and develop their scholar identity is equally important to ensuring the overall success of students in this population. Whiting (2006) asserted the scholar identity in Black boys model which argues that one's race, gender, and structural supports (e.g., family, teachers, school administrators) assist in their scholar identity development. Therefore, this autoenthographic study seeks to extend Whiting's (2006) concept by exploring how we as Black men make sense of our scholar identities as a result of either pursuing or having pursued graduate degrees in education.
Publications:
forthcoming...
OTHER SCHOLARLY WORKS
Peer-Reviewed Articles:
Burt, B. A., Roberson, J. J., Johnson, J. T., & Bonanno, A. (2020). Black Men in Engineering Graduate Programs: A Theoretical Model of the Motivation to Persist. Teachers College Record, 122(11), n11.
Burt, B.A. & Johnson, J.T. (2018).Origins of STEM interest for Black male graduate students: A community cultural wealth perspective. School Science and Mathematics, 118(6), 257-270.
Book Chapters:
Johnson, J. T., & Florestal‐Kevelier, R. D. (2024). Brother, We Got You: A collective impact approach to addressing Black college men's mental health. New Directions for Student Services.
Johnson, J.T., Jones, T. (forthcoming) Health Equity Now: Leveraging Critical Consciousness to Shape Health Equity for Black queer and trans* students on Predominately White Campuses. In J. McEderry, S. Hernandez Rivera (Eds.), Developing an Intersectional-Consciousness and Praxis in Antiracist Efforts. Information Age Publishing.
Wallace, J.K., Johnson, J.T., Ford, J.R.(forthcoming) For Us, By Us: Unpacking Research with and for Black Students in Higher Education as Early Career Black Men Faculty. In J. McEderry, S. Hernandez Rivera (Eds.), Developing an Intersectional-Consciousness and Praxis in Antiracist Efforts. Information Age Publishing.
Johnson, J.T. (forthcoming) A Manifesto for Queer and Trans* Student Inclusion at HBCUs. In Johnson, J.M., Mobley, S., Njoku, N., Patton, LD (Eds.), Embracing Queer Students’ Diverse Identities at Historically Black Colleges and Universities: A Primer for Presidents, Administrators, and Faculty. Rutgers University Press.
.