Congratulations to Chandra Harris-McCray, PhD student in Higher Education Administration, who is the recipient of the 2018 Women’s Philanthropy Institute Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. This fellowship will help Chandra complete her dissertation at the University of Tennessee Knoxville on African American alumnae philanthropy to institutions of higher education.
Chandra’s argument, informed by research as well as a decade of personal and professional experience, has led her to the premise that Women of Color, and in particular African America women, are often ignored and overlooked for their philanthropic potential. The implications for her findings go beyond identifying a new donor source, speaking more specifically to influence. Philanthropy and giving lends voice and authority which in turn can ignite change. As Chandra’s proposal demonstrated, diverse voices are missing from the perspectives of many organizations and agencies. Chandra’s study, framed in cogent theory, has the transformative potential to facilitate change.