Marie Fielder Center for Democracy, Leadership, and Education EQUITY, EDUCATION, AND JUSTICE The mission of the Marie Fielder Center for Democracy, Leadership, and Education is to encourage research that addresses today’s educational and social problems.
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Marie Fielder was the first African American woman with a doctorate to teach in the Bay Area and one of the first researchers to prove cultural bias in IQ tests.
Marie Fielder, 1970. PHOTO CREDIT: OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
Fielding Graduate University
The Fielder Center
Established in 2016, The Marie Fielder Center for Democracy, Leadership, and Education at Fielding Graduate University encourages new research and public discourse that advances social and ecological justice. Through its work, the Center honors the legacy of its namesake, Dr. Marie Fielder, and her extraordinary life and accomplishments in education, social justice, and civic involvement. Since its launch, the Center has: • received ongoing National Science Foundation-funded grants to advance highereducation leadership focusing on diversity in science, engineering, and technology. • appointed 15 Fielding doctoral students as Fielder Graduate Fellows and supported their work in developing a Congressional Black Caucus roundtable, researching voting practices, and publishing children’s books that teach empathy. • honored three extraordinary academics who have distinguished their lives’ work in higher education, civic engagement, and social organizing. But the Fielder Center is just getting started. This report offers a taste of what lies ahead.
Katrina S. Rogers, PhD President
Orlando L. Taylor, PhD Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Research
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Marie Fielder, PhD, was one of the most influential women in the history of California education. She achieved national prominence for her theories on how diverse cultures and groups relate to one another. In her 60-year career, Dr. Fielder was a teacher, social researcher, and consultant specializing in organizational development and school culture. She was the first African-American woman with a doctorate to teach in the San Francisco Bay Area and one of the first researchers who documented cultural bias in IQ tests. She helped the Berkeley public schools become the first in the nation to desegregate through two-way busing – one of her proudest accomplishments. In the 1960s and ‘70s, Dr. Fielder contributed to the work of such civil rights leaders as Martin Luther King Jr. and Whitney Young, and advised the US Department of Education, the Black Panther Party for Defense and Justice, and the National Organization for Women. Dr. Fielder inspired generations of students at three universities where she held faculty appointments. She was a founding faculty member at Fielding, and served as the Chair of the Board of Trustees. Lenneal Henderson, Fielder Center Advisory Board
Marie Fielder, PhD
Co-Chair and Fielding faculty member, met Dr. Fielder at his high school. “She had a profound effect on me,” he said. “She knew very well that education was essential in inspiring youth to become leaders for social justice and democracy.”
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Visiting faculty at the National Training Lab, 1967 (Marie Fielder, fourth from right).
PHOTO COURTESY OF NICOLA SMITH
Fielding.edu/MarieFielderCenter
Fielder Fellows 15 Fielding doctoral students have been appointed Fielder Graduate Fellows, and pursued research projects that address social-justice concerns. Among them are... Greg Williams, who presented his research on voter fraud claims and its impact on democracy, at the International Institute for Qualitative Methodology QualWorld virtual conference 2018.
Dawn Murphy, who turned her Fielder project on Folk Schools into a $100,000 federal grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service using community-based participatory research to explore how Folk Schools can contribute to economic development in vulnerable regions.
Susan Eddington, who hosted a Washington, DC, roundtable in conjunction with the Congressional Black Caucus, examining Media Representations of Black Women and their Influence on the Well-Being of Black Women and Girls.
Orlando Taylor, PhD, senior vice president of Strategic Initiatives and Research, and Katherine McGraw, PhD, director of Sponsored Programs and Special Projects, serve as mentors to the Fellows.
Fielding Graduate University
Fellowship Means Credibility
Fellowship Means Inclusion
Fellowship Means Support
Greg Williams
Dawn Murphy
Susan Eddington
“My specific research areas and methodological
“Many doctoral students experience a feeling of
“Being a fellow has yielded the unanticipated benefit
approaches immediately earn legitimacy directly
isolation or outsider standing when entering into a
of being supported as I explore new possibilities with
because of my Fellowship status,” says Fielder Fellow
scholar-practitioner community,” says Fielder Fellow
my research,” says Fielder Fellow Susan Eddington,
Greg Williams, who is researching the way voter fraud
Dawn Murphy, who is doing research in Education.
who is doing research in Leadership. “I have found
claims impact Democracy. “Being able to identify
“The award of the Fielder Fellow appointment signaled
an encouraging community of other people who dare
myself with this designation means credibility.
inclusion for me. The title of Fielder Fellow bestowed
to dream, each working to make a difference in the
legitimacy not only to me, but also my research interest
world through their work.
“The opportunity to convene with a group of scholarly,
in the broader academic community. It also meant that
creative individuals and learn what they are doing
I had a ‘project’ and this project provided and provides
“By adhering to the legacy of Dr. Marie Fielder and
to promote their works, etc., is both inspiring and
a means of contextualizing and integrating my learning
her commitment to fearlessly lead the charge for
practical. The Fielder Center helps Fellows find funds
as I move from PhD student to PhD.
social justice, the Fielder Center can nurture and
if presenting their research overseas would be
support future scholars driven by their intention to
financially burdensome. Not only does this help the
“What brought me to Fielding was not the promise and
bring about more equity, fairness, and justice for all
individual Fellow, but it also increases the research
potential of study, but the belief in the profound social
people as we strive to create a more inclusive society
exposure for democratically important issues.”
impact of scholarly practice,” she continues. “The Marie
that embraces its diversity.”
Fielder Fellow program delivered on this belief and Fielding philosophy in a way not otherwise available.” Fielding.edu/MarieFielderCenter
The 2019 Fielder Fellow Cohort
Luis Ellis
Linda Harris
L.E. Johnson II
Program: EdD
Program: EdD
Program: EdD
Educational Leadership for Change
Educational Leadership for Change
Educational Leadership for Change
Theresa Southam
Yvette Strickling
Deborah Johnson
Program: PhD
Program: EdD
Program: EdD
Organizational Development and Change
Educational Leadership for Change
Educational Leadership for Change
Fielding Graduate University
Marie Fielder Medal recipients...
Marie Fielder Medal
for Social Transformation
2016 – Dr. Walter Bumphus, president and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), whose career achievements strengthened a vital part of America’s higher educational system — the community college — and will be felt for generations to come.
2017 – Dr. Gary Orfield, professor, UCLA Graduate School of Education and co-director, The Civil Rights Project at UCLA, whose life work has been the development and implementation of social policy, with a central focus on the impact of policy on equal opportunity for success in American society. [Dr. Orfield pictured with Fielding President Katrina Rogers, left, and Nicola Smith, JD, Fielding faculty
The Fielder Center awards
member and daughter of Marie Fielder.]
the annual Marie Fielder Medal for Social Transformation to national crusaders for social justice.
2018 – Dr. Patricia Gurin, Nancy Cantor Distinguished University Professor Emerita of Psychology and Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan, who created the model for Inter-Group Relations Programs used nationally and internationally. Both personally and professionally, her life has been devoted to social justice. Fielding.edu/MarieFielderCenter
Partnerships The Marie Fielder Center partners with the University of the Virgin Islands on various projects, including UVI’s doctoral program in Creative Leadership, through which students enroll in the Fielding certificate in Organizational Development and Leadership (ODL). UVI faculty also collaborate with Fielding’s Sustainability Work Group to examine issues of ecological and social justice. The Center has also partnered with UVI, North Carolina A & T State University, and the Association of American Colleges and Universities to form the Center for the Advancement of STEM Leadership, to broaden the participation of diverse populations in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.
Fielding Graduate University
Kettering Foundation
National Science Foundation
$10,000 award to produce an in-depth essay on racial and ethnic
Five awards totaling over $4.6 million for conducting and distributing
tensions in the country through various media lenses and scholarly
research on the role of leadership at Historically Black Colleges and
theories and to propose new models that communities might explore to
Universities (HBCUs) in advancing diversity in STEM fields, and using
mitigate them.
that research to develop new leaders; and for providing academic leadership training with STEM Women Faculty in Tribal Colleges and the Society of STEM Women of Color.
Monograph In 2019, the Fielder Center will publish a monograph on the life and legacy of Marie Fielder. Edited by Fielding faculty members, this volume will introduce Dr. Fielder and her important role in civil rights and social justice to contemporary audiences.
Fielding.edu/MarieFielderCenter
Mission To encourage new research that addresses today’s educational and social problems.
Values All work within the Marie Fielder Center promotes Dr. Fielder’s principles of transformational change for social justice as exemplified through her life’s work, her philosophy, and her contributions to equity, education, and justice.
Fielding Graduate University
Advisory Council Lenneal Henderson, PhD, Co-Chair Claudia Mitchell-Kernan, PhD, Co-Chair Nicola Smith, JD, Ex-Officio Member Orlando L. Taylor, PhD, Ex-Officio Member Katrina S. Rogers, PhD, Ex-Officio Member Richard Appelbaum, PhD Patricia Arredondo, EdD Stacy Blake-Beard, PhD Robert Corrigan, PhD Anna DiStefano, EdD Placida Gallegos, PhD Anthony Greene, PhD Carlos Grijalva, PhD Kelly Mack, PhD Camille McKayle, PhD Margo Okazawa-Rey, PhD Carlos Santiago, PhD
Fielding.edu/MarieFielderCenter
Thank you, supporters! The Center needs $50,000 each year for its operations. We could not continue our work without your generous philanthropic partnership with us. Listed on these pages are the contributors to the Fielder Visiting Scholar Endowment and supporters of the Marie Fielder Center as of March 1, 2019.
Dorothy Agger-Gupta, PhD,
David Edelman, MBA, and Katherine Edelman
Sharon Hawley , PhD
Kathleen Edwards, PhD, and George Edwards
Leonard Haynes, PhD
Keith Alward, PhD
Jennifer Edwards, PhD
Lenneal Henderson, PhD,
Julie Anding, PhD, and Lisa Kornetsky
Jo Ellen Eng, PhD
Patricia Arredondo, EdD
Patricia Evans, PhD
Mary Henderson, EdD
Suzanne Baer, PhD
Kevin Fickenscher, MD,
Ruth Hochberg, PhD
and Niels Agger-Gupta, PhD
Christian Batista, MA
and Suzanne Olbricht, MD
and Joyce Henderson
Hallock Hoffman*
Rodney Beaulieu, PhD, and Kat Beaulie
Marilyn Freimuth, PhD
Jerri Lynn Hogg, PhD, and Adrian Hogg
John Bennett, PhD, and Eric T. Johnson
Donna Wickham Furth
Daniel Holland, PhD,
Karen Bogart, PhD, and Zac Bogart
Greta and Luis Smith Garcia
Alma Boutin-Martinez, PhD
Russell Goodman, MBA, and Donna Goodman
Richard and Margo Hunter
Judy Boykin-McCarthy, EdD
Frances Goodrow
Natalie Hurst and Daniel Braden
Brico Fund
Sue Gordon, PhD
Szabi Ishtai-Zee, PhD
Juanita Brown, PhD, and David Isaacs
Laura Gray, MA
Thelma Jackson, EdD
Karin Bunnell, PhD, and Anthony Bettencourt
Sherrie Green, PhD
Kristine Jacquin, PhD
Christine Clark, MA
Nancy Greenspan
Stuart and Tracy Jenkins
Argentine S. Craig, PhD
Toni Gregory, EdD*
Harriett G. Jenkins, EdD
Glory Dierker, PhD, and Bob Dierker
Carlos Grijalva, PhD
Pamela Johnson
Anna DiStefano, EdD, and Deborah Karoff
Harley-Davidson Foundation, Inc.
Kerul Kassel, PhD
Barbara Divver and Ted Reff
Miranda Haskie, EdD
Judith Katz, EdD, and David Levine
Keith Earley, PhD
Stanley and Betty Hatch
Kellogg (W.K). Foundation
Fielding Graduate University
and Deidra Susan Holland, MD
Robert E. Kinsinger, EdD*
Alison and Richard Mitchell
Frank L. Smith*
Zieva Konvisser, PhD, and Marc W. Konvisser
Jerrold A. Moore and Marianne Locke
Richard and Nancy Smith
Anne Kratz and John LaPuma
Eileen Morgan, PhD
Stephen and Carla Smith
Judith Kuipers, PhD
Lynn Newman, EdD, and Andrew Newman
Nicola Smith, JD
Tomรกs Leal, Jr.
Jerry P. Nims, PhD*
Monique Snowden, PhD
Barbara Leary
Patricia Oelrich, PhD
Judith Stevens-Long, PhD,
Otto Lee, EdD
Beverly Palley, EdD
Lisa Lewis, MBA
Marilyn D. Parker, PhD, and Leonard Brooks
Charlease T. Stevenson, PhD
Nancy Lippe, EdD
Wayne Patterson, PhD
Eugene H. Stivers, PhD
Marianne Locke, EdD, and Jerrold Moore
Kay Payne
Donna F. Stonich
Sarah MacDougall, EdD
Nolan Penn, PhD, and Barbara Penn
Ronald and Ann Stratten
Kelly Mack
Georgia A. Persons, PhD
John and Jane Stromberg
William Maehl, PhD, and Audrey Maehl
Gerald Porter, PhD*
Ted Takamura, PhD, and Raynette Yoshida
Patricia Marin, PhD
Marilyn Price-Mitchell, PhD
Orlando Taylor, PhD
John Mateja
Kathleen Randolph, PhD, and John Randolph
Tojo Thatchenkery, PhD
Theresa Mattison, EdD
Sue Reamer, PhD
Gine Thomes-Cotter, EdD
Larraine Matusak, PhD
Margery Regalado-Rodriguez, EdD
Kathy Tiner, PhD
Mary Maxwell, EdD
John Robinson, EdD
Nancy and Sidney Unobskey
Charles McClintock, PhD, and Carol Wilburn
Harriett Robles, EdD, and Felix Robles
Gregory Walsh, EdD
Monica McClintock
Katrina S. Rogers, PhD,
Alan Yurman
Sara Miller McCune
and William A. Cherry, PhD
Katherine McGraw, PhD
Patsy H. Sampson, PhD*
Irene McHenry, PhD
Steven Schapiro, EdD,
Pat McKeldin and Gorman Ortiz Barbara Mink, EdD
and Larry Severance
and Placida Gallegos, PhD Kim Seashore
* deceased Fielding.edu/MarieFielderCenter
Marie Fielder Center Fielding Graduate University 2020 De La Vina Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105 700 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20003 Fielding.edu If you would like to support the Center, contact Elena Nicklasson, director of Development, at 805-898-2926 or Giving@Fielding.edu.
Fielding Graduate University