Dr. Mauriell H. Amechi
Social Scientist, Professor, and Speaker in Riverside, CA
Mauriell Amechi, Ph.D. is a passionate speaker, social scientist, professor, and rising scholar committed to educational equity and improving college outcomes and opportunities for historically marginalized learners. Dr. Amechi's research expertise and advocacy center on issues of educational equity, student development, college access, choice, and persistence, with a particular focus on the experiences and pathways of transition-age foster youth and adults formerly in foster care. The second strand of his research explores institutional efforts to broaden participation for minoritized learners in the health science and STEM fields. The National Resource Center on the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, National Association for Campus Activities, and ACPA Foundation have generously sponsored his scholarship.
Dr. Amechi's solo and co-authored publications appear in the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Review of Higher Education, Journal of African American Males in Education, American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, and the edited volume Advancing Black male student success from preschool through Ph.D. He remains active in professional associations, namely the American Educational Research Association, the Association for the Study of Higher Education, NASPA, and ACPA. He is also an affiliate of the Office of Community College Research and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
A product of Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Westside native received his B.A. with highest distinction from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After studying abroad in Paris, France, he attended The Ohio State University, where he received an M.A. in higher education and student affairs. Dr. Amechi later earned a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a concentration in higher education.
In his free time, he enjoys travel, mentoring, watching sports, exercise, and performing arts.