She earned both her doctorate and her M.A. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She completed her B.A. in secondary education at the University of Arizona. Her published works include co-editing three edited books and authoring articles in Teachers College Record, Equity & Excellence in Education, Christian Higher Education, Urban Education, and Education and Urban Society as well as an array of book chapters. Additionally, she has also served as the Associate Editor for Media Reviews for the Journal of Student Affairs Research & Practice. In 2009, she received both the Joyce Cain Award for Distinguished Research on African Descendants from the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) and the AERA Division J Outstanding Publication Award.