A Passion for Leadership

Joseph Stevenson

For Joseph Stevenson, MS ’86, PhD ‘86, being the first black man to graduate from the Educational Policy and Management doctoral program (now Educational Methodology, Policy, and Leadership) didn’t come without challenges. But Joseph persevered with the support of important mentors at the University of Oregon, and has gone on to a varied career in educational leadership as a provost, superintendent, and educator.

When Joseph began his doctoral career at the College of Education, he realized that in order to be an effective administrator, he needed to have a thorough understanding of teaching. “To me, a good administrator needed to know at the minimum sound practices for curriculum and instruction.” He concurrently earned a master’s in Curriculum and Instruction and a PhD in EDPM, adding to the two master’s degrees he already completed at California State University, Sacramento.

The support of the first Black Dean of the School of Law, Derrick Bell, and his wife Jewel, was crucial to Joseph’s success, as well as the support of professor Richard Schmuck, who served on his dissertation committee. Schmuck helped Joseph gain an assistant professor position as well, teaching a new multicultural education course. But support from the president of the university at the time, renowned physicist Paul Olum, was the most surprising. As Joseph walked across the commencement stage, Olum whispered that he would see him later that day. As promised, Olum showed up later to Joseph’s celebratory barbecue. Joseph was touched at his show of support. “Paul was a very private man. It was just so warming to have him take a day out of his schedule, and come to try out my barbecued lamb,” Joseph recalled, laughing.

While Joseph had crucial mentorship during his time at the COE, it wasn’t without tension. He says, “there were instances of microaggression and implicit bias from faculty, but I have deep gratitude and I continue to be very thankful for the kind of educational experiences I had.” His experiences have led him to be an advocate for Black student recruitment and success in universities nationwide, and he hopes to help with the COE’s efforts to increase diversity in faculty hiring and student recruitment.

“I think that Oregon is a good experience [for students]. But you do need to get more people of color on the faculty if you want to recruit more students [of color]. I would love to come back and share some of my stories, and help with recruiting more people of color. I would love to see as many African American students in the COE as you have on the football team.”

Above picture: Joseph Stevenson teaches his son to make the Oregon “O.”