BU Wheelock Scholars Earn Postdoctoral Fellowships
Davena Jackson and Kirsten Slungaard Mumma
BU Wheelock Scholars Earn Postdoctoral Fellowships
Two members of the BU Wheelock community were recently honored with postdoctoral fellowships from National Academy of Education. Davena Jackson, an assistant professor of urban education with a focus on English education, language and literacy, was named an NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow and will use her award to advance her work promoting educational equity. Postdoctoral fellow Kirsten Slungaard Mumma of the Wheelock Educational Policy Center (WEPC) was also named an NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow.
Designed for scholars early in their academic career, the fellowship is extremely competitive—Jackson and Slungaard Mumma were among 25 individuals selected out of 195 applicants. As NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellows, Jackson and Slungaard Mumma will receive $70,000 to cover their expenses, including research. They will also have the opportunity to attend professional development retreats.
A longtime advocate for equity and inclusion, Jackson plans to use the fellowship to support her research project, “Advancing Justice-Oriented Solidarity: Partnering to Transform Black Students’ Literacies across Eight English Classrooms in an Urban High School.” Rooted in justice-oriented solidarity, the project’s framework supports and affirms the full humanity of Black students who have experienced ethnic, racial, or linguistic marginalization, and other forms of oppression.
“I’m deeply humbled and grateful to be a NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow,” says Jackson. “As a recipient, I’ll be able to continue my research about justice-oriented solidarity while working alongside eight diverse teachers. I am excited about all the possibilities.”
Slungaard Mumma, an expert on the economics of education, studies how education programs and policies affect the economic, social, and political outcomes of children and adults. Her project is titled “Identifying the Effects of Schools and Teachers on Civic Engagement.” She will be joining the faculty of Columbia University’s Teachers College in the fall.