Ezinne D. Ofoegbu (pronounced eh-zen-eh oh-FEH-boo) is a scholar-practitioner with an unapologetic commitment to making college environments more inclusive and supportive for all students, and foster generations of higher education and student affairs practitioners who embody cura personalis in their work. This commitment informs her scholarship, teaching, and mentorship as an assistant professor of educational leadership. Dr. Ofoegbu teaches courses related to higher education leadership and student affairs, such as history of higher education and student development theory, and research methods, such as action research. As a Black woman and daughter of immigrants, Dr. Ofoegbu strives to center historically marginalized populations in college environments that continue to exclude, “other”, and deny the cultural wealth that exists within these student populations.
Dr. Ofoegbu’s current scholarship examines three areas of inquiry: 1) Black women’s experiences in college athletics, 2) social justice commitments and initiatives in college athletics, and 3) Black immigrant-origin college students’ experiences to and through higher education. She leans on interdisciplinary lens such as critical race feminism and intersectionality, qualitative methodologies (e.g. narrative inquiry, critical discourse analysis, etc.) to answer her research questions and share implications of the current and future practitioners within higher education. Her research has been published in journals such as the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education, Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, and Sociology of Sport Journal. Additionally She has presented her at research at national conferences, including the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) and the Black Student-Athlete Summit.
Education
Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Policy and Human Development, North Carolina State University
M.Ed. in Postsecondary Administration and Student Affairs, University of Southern California,
B.S. in Kinesiology, San Diego State University
Ofoegbu, E. D. (2023). “Aren't you here to help me?”: Examining the role of identity as Black women athletes navigate relationships and creating community at PWIs. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000493
Ekpe, L. & Sherman, A., & Ofoegbu, E. D. (2023) Restoring resilience through joy: The pursuit of happiness in the midst of unprecedented times. Equity in Education & Society. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/27526461231154012
Ofoegbu, E. D. (2022). “Of course, I was the only Black girl”: Unpacking the academic experiences of Black women student-athletes at PWIs. Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education. 15(4), 396-414. https://doi.org/10.1080/26379112.2022.2134143
Black, W. L., Ofoegbu, E. D., & Foster, S. L. (2022). #TheyAreUnited and #TheyWantToPlay: A critical discourse analysis of college football player social media activism. Sociology of Sport Journal. 39(4), 352–361. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2021-0045
Ofoegbu, E. D. & Ekpe, L. (2022). Walk it like you talk it: A critical discourse analysis of college athletics’ response to the murder of George Floyd. Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics. 15, 168-188. http://csri-jiia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/RA_2022_08.pdf