Mauriell H. Amechi, Ph.D. is an education professor and rising scholar committed to equity and social justice. His research expertise, pedagogy, and advocacy center on issues of educational equity, college access, student development, and persistence, with a particular focus on the experiences and pathways of underserved youth and adults who have been through foster care.
Adopted and raised by his late grandmother, Dr. Amechi’s scholarship on college-going foster youth is inspired by his background in kinship foster care and the myriad barriers he overcame to earn his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D.
Dr. Amechi's solo and co-authored publications appear in the Review of Higher Education, American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, Journal of African American Males in Education, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education and the edited volume, Advancing Black male student success from preschool through Ph.D.
A product of Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Westside native received his B.A. with highest distinction from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also holds an M.A. in higher education and student affairs from Ohio State University. He later earned his doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.