Dr. Ezella McPherson has spent over 20 years as an educator helping marginalized students (e.g., Black, Indigenous Peoples, Latinx, first-generation, low-income, students with disabilities) get to college and graduate. Dr. McPherson is currently the Manager of College Access at the Detroit Regional Chamber, where she co-creates college access programs such as summer bridge and summer melt. She ensures that underserved high school students successfully transfer to college through these initiatives.
Dr. McPherson’s earlier higher education job experience included a strong track record of assisting underrepresented students at colleges and universities. For example, at the University of Illinois, she mentored and advised 95% of the undergraduate Black women, Latinas, and Asian women. Another example is that within a year at Wayne State University, she validated 7 Electrical Engineering undergraduate degrees (6 Black men, 1 Black woman).
Dr. McPherson also established and maintained a proactive advising program at Wayne State University that retained 95% of declared and 84% of undeclared Electrical Engineering advisees. Her engagement at Indiana University South Bend was a final illustration of her dedication to mentoring and counseling marginalized students (IUSB).
Dr. McPherson’s first-year check-in program achieved an 82% retention rate for underprivileged college freshmen in the Fall 2016 as the inaugural director of the IUSB Titan Success Center team. The IUSB Titan Success Center team’s work and commitment to retaining first-year students contributed significantly to the program’s success.
