Nicole Lewis, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, 2007, Assistant Professor

Dr. Lewis (vita in PDF) joined the faculty in 2008.  Her areas of expertise are in identification of factors that influence underrepresented students’ entry and persistence into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines and in the explication of practices and experiences that influence students’ educational choices and career aspirations. More specifically, her research examines the influence of factors such as undergraduate research involvement and student-faculty interactions on students’ decisions to pursue the Ph.D. in STEM fields. Additionally, she investigates the ways by which K-12 educational experiences and outcomes influence participation in and completion of STEM undergraduate degree programs.

She has worked on a range of evaluation and research projects including projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the Virginia Supreme Court, community agencies, school districts, and various colleges and universities. 

Professor Lewis received her B.A. in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), her M.Ed. in Education Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, and her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, Measurement, and Evaluation from UNC-CH.  Prior to joining the faculty at UK, Professor Lewis was a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Research Network on Racial and Ethnic Inequality at Duke University.