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Jerry M. Whitmore

Professor of Higher Education, Boston University
Chapter Member: Boston SSN
Areas of Expertise:

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About Jerry

Dr. Whitmore’s research employs mixed methods to examine disparities in educational attainment, psychosocial health, the income-wealth gap, and student loan policy. His work is grounded in a commitment to evidence-based policy, aiming to inform solutions that expand opportunity and strengthen access to higher education. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Research from Louisiana State University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In the News

Interviewed in "Hot-Button Topics, Responsive Leaders," BU Wheelock Magazine, October 19, 2022.

Publications

"Whiteness and Colonization in Higher Education" (with Detris Honora Adelabu and Adine A. DeLeon) in Contemporary Issues in Equity, Democracy, and Public Education, edited by Felicity Crawford, Fadie T. Coleman, Elsa Wiehe, (Routledge, 2024).

Explores the historical context of colonization and the perpetuation of Whiteness as a reinforcing reward system that gains power from the marginalization of people of color, Indigenous, and others for individual and institutional gain. Proposes a model to guide decolonization efforts and provides recommendations that Higher education institutions (HEIs) can use to break the cyclical reward structure and reinforcement of Whiteness to foster meaningful, sustained change.

"Diversity on Campus and the Chief Diversity Officer: Purpose and Preparation" (with Roland W. Mitchell, Chaunda A. Mitchell, and Kenneth Fasching) in Controversies on Campus: Debating the Issues Confronting American Universities in the 21st Century, edited by Joy Blanchard, (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018).