Prior to beginning the fellowship, students will identify a faculty mentor with compatible research interests with whom they will work on multiple projects throughout the year. Mentors will work closely with fellows as they develop and implement their service learning research project at the North Florida Freedom Schools. Fellows will further develop their research experience through research apprenticeships on mentors’ ongoing projects.
Below is a complete list of the 2018 PURPOSE faculty mentors. Students may choose to work with any faculty mentor, regardless of whether that mentor is from the same program, department, or university.
2018 PURPOSE Faculty Mentors
| Mentor | Institution | Department/Program | Research Interests | Website |
| Peggy Auman | FAMU | Elementary Education | Instructional design process and how it relates to learning in young children, Alternative assessment procedures, and Measuring teaching effectiveness | Site |
| Vannessa Pitts Bannister | FAMU | Secondary Education and Foundations/Math Education | Mathematical thinking and learning of preservice teachers | Site |
| George Boggs | FSU | School of Teacher Education/English Education | Exploring composition in context to support literacy development and teacher education; Examining the scientific, political, and cultural value of literacies | Site |
| Kristal Clemons | FSU | Educational Leadership and Policy Studies | Qualitative research; Social foundations of education; Women’s and gender studies; Culture, diversity, and multicultural education; social studies methods; Teacher education and development; Critical race theory; Popular culture/hip hop studies; and U.S. history | Site |
| Cheron Hunter Davis | FAMU | Elementary Education | Exploring preservice teachers’ reflective pedagogy and digital literacy, early literacy interventions, multicultural literature, using literature to address social justice | Site |
| Lama Jaber | FSU | School of Teacher Education/Science Education | Learner engagement in scientific inquiry in different contexts, and Learners’ emotions during engagement | Site |
| Tamara Bertrand Jones | FSU | Educational Leadership and Policy Studies/Higher Education | Influences on socialization during graduate education and the professional experiences of underrepresented populations, particularly Black women, in academia; Culturally responsive assessment and evaluation | Site |
| Rhea Lathan | FSU | Rhetoric and Composition | Literate and rhetorical history of women of African descent, Development of literacy, and Delivery systems for the teaching of writing; Community based critical intellectualism, Identity politics and social historical activism, Critical race theory in rhetoric and composition | Site |
| Joshua Newman | FSU | Sport Management/Media, Politics, and Cultural Studies | Critical theory, and Cultural and political economies of sport and the active body | Site |
| Jenelle Robinson | FAMU | Food Science/Nutrition | Exploring dietary behaviors in association with spirituality and religion among African Americans; Examining body image ideas and diet among African American women; Exploring the value of the performing arts to enhance nutrition education; Enhancing nutritional knowledge and behaviors through nutrition education | Site |
| Alysia Roehrig | FSU | Educational Psychology and Learning Systems/Learning and Cognition | Effective teaching; Teacher professional development; Student literacy learning and motivation | Site |
| Alishea Rowley | FAMU | Educator Leadership and Human Services/Counselor Education | Identity development in single African American mothers and children, Urban school population, Counselor training and development, and Social justice | Site |
| Samuel Rowley | FAMU | Music Education | Music teacher education and Music education pedagogy | Site |
| Nicholas Thomas | FAMU | Music Education | Music teacher education, Urban teacher education, Music education pedagogy, Instrumental music, and Wind band pedagogy | Site |
| Jeannine Turner | FSU | Educational Psychology and Learning Systems/Learning and Cognition | Learning, motivation, emotions, and Self-regulation of engineering students | Site |
| Ian Whitacre | FSU | School of Teacher Education/Elementary Mathematics Education | Mathematical thinking and learning of preservice teachers and K-8 students, Use of computer Simulations in mathematics teaching and learning | Site |
| Carla Wood | FSU | Communication Science & Disorders | Early intervention for English language learners and hearing impaired; Clinical and Distance Education; Efficacy of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategies with young children; Family quality of life measurement; Bilingual assessment | Site |