New Holmes Postdoc Launches at Boston University

AACTE and member institution Boston University (MA) are delighted to announce a pilot expansion of the AACTE Holmes Program in a new postdoctoral fellowship. The Holmes Postdoctoral Program in Education and Human Development welcomes its first two associates to the Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development this fall for a 2-year residency.

Jeana E. Morrison, who earned her Ph.D. in educational leadership development and learning technologies from Drexel University (PA), studies the postsecondary experiences of underrepresented students and the policies that affect their success.


Shana Rochester, whose Ph.D. is in education and psychology from the University of Michigan, investigates the language and literacy development of PK-3 students, especially children of color, and how various school and community contexts and cultural knowledge contribute to their learning.

Learn more about the two postdoctoral associates in a recent interview published on the university’s website.


Boston University has operated an AACTE Holmes Program since 2015, which now serves doctoral-level Holmes Scholars as well as Holmes Master’s students in the Wheelock College of Education and Human Development. Holmes Coordinator Michael Dennehy, director of the college’s access and student success programs, orchestrates a network of supports that range from university-funded opportunities to participate in meetings and events to faculty and peer advising and outreach.

“Through the leadership of Dr. Cathy O’Connor, then dean ad interim, and Dr. Beth Warren, associate dean of research, and the commitment of Provost Jean Morrison, the Holmes Postdoctoral Program is an important extension to the professional development and support of Boston University’s existing Holmes programs,” said Dennehy. “The Wheelock College of Education is enriched by having Dr. Jeana E. Morrison and Dr. Shana Rochester as part of our community.”

Boston University Holmes Program participants include (l-r) Sadiki Lewis, Sadia Sharif, Dana Dunwoody, Makaela Jones, and Courtney James. Dunwoody and James are Holmes Scholars; Lewis, Sharif, and Jones are Holmes Master’s students.

The AACTE Holmes Program supports students from groups that have been historically underrepresented in the education profession who are pursuing careers in education at AACTE member institutions. Founded in 1991 for doctoral students, and expanded in 2015 to support students at earlier points in their education careers, the Holmes Program now provides mentorship, peer support, and professional development opportunities in education to students from high school through the doctoral level.

The postdoctoral pilot at Boston University extends the program into an important new dimension. It is designed to serve and prepare early-career scholars on the path to becoming faculty members, while also supporting development of their professional research agendas related to equity and social justice in education.

“The AACTE Holmes Program is enriched by Boston University’s commitment to pioneer this work in the postdoctoral stage of scholarly development,” said AACTE President/CEO Lynn M. Gangone. “We’re so pleased with the care and dedication Mr. Dennehy, Dr. O’Connor, Dr. Warren, Dr. Michelle Porche, and Dr. Detris Adelabu have put into the fellowship’s design as well as their ongoing work with graduate students in the Holmes Program.”

For more information about the AACTE Holmes Program, visit aacte.org. You can also view past issues of the monthly e-newsletter Scholars Report here and subscribe here.


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