Darris Means, an associate professor in the School of Education, has been selected as a 2021 Richard P. Nathan Policy Fellow of the Rockefeller Institute of Government.
Through the one-year fellowship, Means will conduct state policy-focused research related to rural education and equity. Based on this work, he will create a report and deliver a public presentation.
"Rural communities are sometimes an afterthought with some of the policies that do exist," he said. Means seeks to change that.
"I will review state policy related to higher education retention, attainment and graduation to better understand how inclusive state policy is of rural education, rural communities and rural students. And, based on state policies, how might they support and/or hinder educational equity for rural college students."
In addition to the Rockefeller fellowship, Means was recently named as a 2021 Dean's Scholar in Equity, Justice and Rural Education at Pitt Education.