By Isabella DeHayes
Kristine Lewis Grant, PhD, clinical professor for the School of Education since 2006, is this year’s recipient of the Dr. Tchet Dereic Dorman Award for Multicultural Leadership from the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education (PA-NAME). Receiving the award is an honor for Grant, who was surprised to be nominated. Dr. Tchet Dorman was a mentor of hers and encouraged her to become a leader in PA-NAME.
Dr. Grant has a long relationship with PA-NAME. She has served as PA-NAME’s secretary, vice president, and president, and is now mentoring the future leaders of the organization. For fifteen years, Grant has contributed to the organization and said she was touched that they recognized her contributions.
What was most touching about the award was hearing that two of her former EdD students, Drs. Shannon Dietz and Matthew West (PA-NAME Hospitality Co-Chairs), wrote recommendation letters, expressing appreciation and gratitude towards her. Grant finds great joy in teaching and mentoring both undergraduate and EdD students. It is gratifying for her to see her students grow and make an impact on the world.
“I feel like I've made the most impact with my students, particularly my EdD students, because they're all leaders. By supporting their leadership development, I'm helping them to have a positive impact on the communities they serve,”
– Grant says.
Grant also attributes where she is today as a leader and educator to all the teachers and mentors that were part of her life and can point to pivotal people who shaped her educational experience. She strives to be an educator who helps people as they move through the educational pipeline, as people, including Dr. Tchet Dorman, did for her.
Dr. Grant says Dr. Dorman truly believed that multicultural education was about bringing people together to engage in deep, critical self-reflection, and supporting each others’ personal and collective growth. Grant says that he truly lived the values that he espoused in his work.
“I see it as both my responsibility and my honor to give my students the kind of support others once gave me — a space where they feel safe, are able to flourish and grow, and can go on to do amazing things,” she said.
Being honored with this award also means carrying forward Dr. Dorman’s legacy, where he facilitated meaningful conversations around diversity and equity, especially in educational settings. Grant makes an effort to create the kinds of spaces where students can effectively wrestle with challenging questions both personally and collectively. Grant says that whether in a foundational education course or a research methods course, diversity, equity, and ethics always have a place - all of it is interconnected.
She says, “I believe that at the heart of diversity and equity is the simple act of treating one another humanely. I hope the future teachers I educate and the leaders I mentor come to see diversity and equity as fundamentally rooted in humanity and ethics.”