Taylor's area of study is African American literature and culture before the year 1900. For four years, Graves has taught, trained and interacted with diverse student populations. Graves seeks to add to the body of literature on racial identity through teaching on the college level. Her current research focuses on identifying the effects individual differences have on job satisfaction. Fellows are in residence at Virginia Tech for the summer sessions, during which they teach one course first summer term and devote the other term to research, professional development, interaction with Virginia Tech faculty member and students, and other faculty members' development activities.
Fellows meet regularly with members of an advising or mentoring team.