B.A. Communication and Culture, Howard University

M.S. Ed. Higher Education Management, University of Pennsylvania 

Ph.D. Educational Policy and Leadership, University of  Maryland

Dr. Steve D. Mobley, Jr.’s scholarship focuses on the contemporary placement of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Particularly, his research underscores the understudied facets of HBCU communities including issues surrounding race, social class, and student sexuality. He earned his B.A. in Communication & Culture from Howard University. Upon graduating from Howard, he completed his Master’s in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania and earned his Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Maryland.

Dr. Mobley, Jr. also has had extensive experience in the fields of Higher Education and Student Affairs. Prior to him beginning his career as an academic, he served as Associate Director of the undergraduate program at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. He also held appointments in academic affairs at the University of Maryland and taught courses in The College of Education, Undergraduate Studies, and the Academic Achievement Programs (A TRiO Initiative).

His scholarly work has also garnered national attention. Dr. Mobley, Jr. was named a 2022 Diverse: Issues In Higher Education Emerging Scholar, and a 2021 College Student Educators International (ACPA) Emerging Scholar-Designee Awardee. He is also the recipient of the 2018 Article of the Year Award from the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Queer Studies Special Interest Group (SIG), 2019 College Student Educators International (ACPA) Coalition on Men & Masculinities Tracy Davis Emerging Research Award, and the 2019 American College Personnel Association’s (ACPA) Coalition of Sexuality and Gender Identities (CSGI) Research Recognition Award.

Dr. Mobley, Jr.’s scholarship has also been published in Teachers College Record, The Journal of Higher Education, The Journal of Homosexuality, The Urban Review, the Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, and the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education.

Research Interests:  

-Black identities within HBCUs & intra-racial  tensions within HBCU  communities 

-Intersectional experiences  of Black communities  within PWIs

Selected Publications:  

Mobley, Jr. S. D., Johnson, J. M., & Drezner,  N. D. (2022). “Why aren't all the White kids  sitting together in the cafeteria?”: An exploration  of White student experiences at a public HBCU.  Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 15(3), 300– 313. 

Williams, K. L., Mobley, Jr. S. D., Campbell, E.,  & Jowers, R. (2022). Meeting at the margins:  Culturally relevant and sustaining practices at  HBCUs for underserved populations. Higher  Education, 84(5), 1067-1087.