Illinois State University’s Dr. Doris Houston has been named an Emerging Higher Education Leaders Fellow with the global research and best practices institution EAB.
Collaborating with more than 80 administrators and scholars across the nation, Houston will explore solutions to issues facing higher education. “Campuses from all over the country are engaging in important discussions on areas such as equity, enrollment, and fiscal policy,” said Houston. “I am honored to be chosen to take part in the EAB community of thought partners.”
Houston will use her capstone project to examine equity practices. She currently serves as the interim assistant to the president for diversity and inclusion at Illinois State, and as chair of the President’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council. She also continues to serve as director of the Center for Child Welfare and Adoption Studies through the University’s School of Social Work. Houston is the principal investigator for the Illinois Permanency Enhancement Project, dedicated to research improving racial equity and well-being for children and families who receive foster care services. Over the last decade, Houston has secured more than $1.4 million for racial equity research in child welfare.
“This fellowship reflects Dr. Houston’s ongoing dedication to improving higher education through a lens of equity,” said Illinois State President Terri Goss Kinzy. “I’m thrilled she will be able to lend her knowledge to fellow leaders across the nation as well as bring insights back to strengthen Illinois State.”
Houston served as a College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Administrative Fellow and also received the Outstanding College Service Award for the College of Arts and Sciences. In 2018, she was the recipient of the David A. Strand Diversity Achievement Award. She is the founder of Together Creating Community, a peer leadership network for foster care alumni and adoptees who attend Illinois State.
Houston earned a Ph.D. in human development and family studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
