The Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Karolyn Tyson, Chair of Sociology at Georgetown University, as Chair of the Scholars Selection Committee, effective July 1, 2023. In addition to Dr. Tyson, the Foundation also named four new members of the Committee: Bryan Brayboy, dean of Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy; Tabbye Chavous, vice provost for equity & inclusion and chief diversity officer at the University of Michigan; Cristiane Duarte, professor in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Columbia University – New York State Psychiatric Institute; and Emily Ozer, professor of Community Health Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health.
Launched in 1982, the William T. Grant Scholars Program supports the professional development of promising early-career researchers in the social, behavioral, and health sciences. The Selection Committee, composed of prominent senior scholars, screens all applications before inviting a small group of finalists to New York for an interview.
Dr. Karolyn Tyson is a professor and Chair of Sociology at Georgetown University. Dr. Tyson’s research centers on understanding racial inequality in educational outcomes and how race matters in educational experiences, particularly for Black students.
Dr. Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy (Lumbee) is dean of Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy and the Carlos Montezuma Professor of Education and Social Policy. His research focuses on the role of race and diversity in higher education and the experiences of Indigenous students, staff, and faculty in institutions of higher education. Dr. Brayboy has served as a mentor to two William T. Grant Scholars.
Dr. Tabbye Chavous is the vice provost for equity & inclusion and chief diversity officer at the University of Michigan, as well as a professor of education and professor of psychology. Her research activities center around social identity development among Black adolescents and the impacts of diversity climates in secondary and higher education settings on young adults.
Dr. Cristiane Duarte is a professor in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Columbia University – New York State Psychiatric Institute where she directs the Center for Intergenerational Psychiatry. Dr. Duarte’s research is based on innovative population-based studies about the development of mental disorders in children, adolescents, and young adults, with special emphasis on intergenerational effects. Her focus is on socially excluded youth growing up in contexts that provide inadequate access to material resources, services and rights.
Emily J. Ozer is a clinical and community psychologist and Professor at the UC-Berkeley School of Public Health whose multi-method research focuses on the role of school climate in adolescent development and mental health; psychological resilience; school-based interventions; and youth participatory action research (YPAR), an equity-focused approach in which youth generate systematic research evidence to address problems they want to improve in their schools and communities. Ozer is a former William T. Grant Scholar and is a PI on two current Foundation grants.
“We will miss the valuable contributions of Lawrence Palinkas, who is stepping down from the committee after twelve years of service, including three as Committee Chair,” said Melissa Wooten, the program officer who manages the Scholars program. “We look forward to working with Karolyn Tyson. In addition to the expertise the new Committee members bring, the composition of the Committee continues to be well-diversified, with representatives from so many disciplines, including public health, psychiatry, education, social policy, and psychology.”
