Dr. D-L Stewart headshot

D-L Stewart

Professor; Dept. Chair - HED

What I do

I am Professor and Chair of the Higher Education Department in the Morgridge College of Education.

Specialization(s)

Higher Education Department, Morgridge College of Education

Professional Biography

I joined DU in 2021 after 20 years of teaching, research, and service in colleges and universities focused on U.S. postsecondary education. My scholarship focuses on the philosophy and history of higher education, institutional transformation toward realizing equity and justice, and how higher education environments function within society and as a crucible for the learning and development of minoritized student, staff, and faculty populations. I received my B.A. from Kalamazoo College in Sociology & Anthropology and my M.A. and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in Higher Education and Student Affairs and Educational Administration and Higher Education, respectively.

Degree(s)

  • Ph.D., Educational Administration and Higher Education, The Ohio State University, 2001
  • MA, Higher Education and Student Affairs, The Ohio State University, 1998
  • BA, Sociology/Anthropology, Kalamazoo College , 1995

Professional Affiliations

  • Association for the Study of Higher Education
  • ACPA-College Student Educators International
  • American Educational Research Association
  • NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education

Research

I endeavor to be a critical and poststructural scholar and educator focused on empowering and imagining futures that sustain and cultivate the learning, growth, and success of minoritized groups in U.S. higher education institutions. My work is informed by an intersectional framework that recognizes both the lived experiences of individuals with multiple marginalities, as well as the material effects of interlocking systems of oppression. I am most interested in the philosophy and history of higher education, institutional transformation toward realizing equity and justice, and how higher education environments function within society and as a crucible for the learning and development of minoritized student, staff, and faculty populations.

My research projects have focused on identity development and faith for Black college students; minoritized students' self-reported non-cognitive gains in college; and, narratives of Black college students between 1945 and 1965 in Midwestern historically white small private colleges. I am also part of a research team examining gender in college admissions. I have two forthcoming research projects. In the first, I am leading a research team to apply a conceptual typology I developed for understanding diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice in higher education as operationalized in university strategic plans. The second project will explore how youth exiting secondary education learn, grow, and become across contexts, including postsecondary education, the workforce, and other settings.

My scholarship broadly has included conceptual writing about trans students in cisgender-centered postsecondary environments; religion, faith, spirituality, and secularity; the philosophical foundations of U.S. higher education; qualitative research methods; and, issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in U.S. higher education. These research and scholarly foci have produced four books, 55 articles and 37 chapters, as well as 158 invited and refereed presentations receiving funding from 10 internal and external grants.

Areas of Research

history and philosophy of higher education
gender
race
sexuality
faith
intersectionality
qualitative research methodology

Presentations

Stewart, D. M. (2021). A college's responsibility to its community in the face of a litany of Black death. Professional Issues Conference. Virtual: Henry Ford College.
Stewart, D. M. (2020). Addressing anti-Blackness, racism, and white supremacy. Unapologetic Educational Research: QualLab Webinar Series. Virtual: College of Education and Human Ecology/The Ohio State University.
Stewart, D. M. (2020). Advancing equity and justice. Bastian Lecture. Virtual: Westminster College (UT).
Stewart, D. M. (2020). Lessons from the past for transforming higher education today. Cynthia S. Johnson Institute Plenary. Virtual: California State University, Long Beach.
Stewart, D. M. (2020). Moving from here. Solutions Network Summer Convening. Virtual: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Stewart, D. M. (2021). Hauntings: The afterlife of segregation on campus. Black Lives Matter Engaged Art Installation. Virtual: Colorado State University.
Stewart, D. M. (2020). Episode 8. Critical Policy Conversations Sei. Virtual: Dr. Erik Felix.

Awards

  • Contribution to Knowledge Award, ACPA-College Student Educators, International
  • Senior Scholar, ACPA-College Student Educators International