Insightful, committed, and energetic. A true mentor.

That is how Suffolk students describe Tryan L. McMickens, an assistant professor in the Administration of Higher Education Program, who has just been recognized as an Emerging Leader by Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) International, a global association of education professionals.

The PDK Emerging Leaders program recognizes top educators under age 40 from around the world for their leadership.

“I am most passionate about creating equitable conditions for all students to succeed in higher education,” says McMickens. “My primary goal is to continue exploring the racial and social justice issues that affect higher education and share those findings with my students as well as outside groups. I hope my work can shed light on disparities that still exist while offering solutions to help foster more inclusive learning environments.”

McMickens and other honorees will be recognized in Washington, D.C. in November and will also engage in conversations about education with U.S. Department of Education officials. In addition, the class of leaders will be featured in upcoming issues of the Chronicle of Higher Education and Education Week.

McMickens's research and teaching broadly examines race in educational and social contexts and undergraduate student development. At Suffolk, he teaches, mentors, and advises students in the graduate program in Administration of Higher Education.

He is also the 2012 PDK Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award winner for his research on how historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) prepare their students for cross-racial, post-collegiate environments. He received a $5,000 award from the PDK Educational Foundation and his work was published in Phi Delta Kappan (See: Vol. 93, No. 8), the nation’s leading magazine on education policy and practice.

“Honoring these young leaders is one of PDK’s most important initiatives,” said William J. Bushaw, PDK International’s executive director. “We know the future of education is in good hands with leaders like these making a difference in the lives of our students.”

PDK is one of the largest education associations in the world and has thousands of members dedicated to improving education, including teachers, principals, superintendents, and higher education faculty and administrators.