Roslyn Mickelson Named University Professor of UNC Charlotte

Roslyn Arlin Mickelson has been named the 2014 University Professor of UNC Charlotte in recognition of her outstanding scholarly achievement in a professional field, as well as demonstrated ability to excel in interdisciplinary research, teaching, and service. The University Professor is recommended to the Board of Trustees by the Chancellor and holds this title for life.

Mickelson joined the UNC Charlotte community as a faculty member in the Department of Sociology in 1985. She currently also is affiliated with UNC Charlotte’s Ph.D. in Public Policy Program, the Women’s & Gender Studies Program, and the College of Education. During her time at UNC Charlotte, Mickelson has received two other prestigious university awards, the Harshini V. de Silva Graduate Mentor Award and the First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal for exemplary research.

Mickelson is “widely regarded as one of the most prominent scholars in the sociology of education across the nation,” commented Adam Gamoran, president of the William T. Grant Foundation.

Mickelson’s scholarship first gained national prominence in the late 1980s with a series of papers examining race and gender inequality in education. Her research on the effects of inter-and intra-school segregation and tracking constitute part of the canon of sociological research on the power and influences of educational opportunities. She has been at the forefront of scholarship addressing the resegregation of schools in cities across the American South, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, following the end of court-ordered desegregation in these communities. Her findings about black-white inequalities in opportunities for learning have held powerful policy implications as well as sociological significance.

Leading national newspapers and magazines have featured her research, including TIME, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, and The Washington Post. Her research also has drawn the attention of leading media in Canada, France, Brazil, Cuba, and South Africa.

Mickelson Called Upon by Notable National Leaders

Notably, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan invited Mickelson to present her research to him and his cabinet in March 2011. Mickelson and her research were cited by name in a U.S. Supreme Court decision on school racial composition, Parents Involved in Community Schools (2007). Justice Clarence Thomas cited Mickelson’s 2001 article, Subverting Swann, and quoted her findings in his concurrent opinion. She has also served as a consultant to the North Carolina State Board of Education and the State Superintendent of the Public Schools of North Carolina. She also has presented her research to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and to the Department of Justice. In 2011, Mickelson was invited to provide testimony to the Minnesota Joint Gubernatorial and Legislative Task Force on Integrated Education on the effects of integrated K-12 education. Most recently she testified as an expert witness about school diversity in a Kentucky hearing.

Joan Lorden, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UNC Charlotte, praises Mickelson’s interdisciplinary teaching and research, stating that “she is an indispensable member of the UNC Charlotte community, she is an internationally recognized scholar, and she exudes excellence and demands it from her students.”

Mickelson has published two books, 55 peer reviewed articles, 59 book chapters, as well as multiple encyclopedia chapters and research reports. She has also guest edited and has served on the editorial boards of several leading journals in both the disciplines of sociology and education. Her research record has led to her recognition as a Fellow of the prestigious American Educational Research Association and the National Educational Policy Center. She has been the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on grants that have generated over $8 million for UNC Charlotte. These dollars have funded valuable research experiences for undergraduate and graduate students.

Throughout her career, Mickelson has made remarkable contributions to graduate education at UNC Charlotte. She has served on over 50 thesis committees, chaired four doctoral dissertation committees, and served on 12 dissertation committees in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and in the College of Education. According to Nancy Gutierrez, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the strength of Mickelson’s research has helped the Sociology Department garner a national reputation.

Ellen McIntyre, Dean of the College of Education, said, “because of her dedication and rigorous interdisciplinary scholarship, Dr. Mickelson has shaped the face of UNC Charlotte today.”