Michelle R. Scott, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, History
Affiliate Associate Professor, Gender and Women’s Studies, Africana Studies, and Language, Literacy, and Culture Doctoral Program
Michelle R. Scott joined the UMBC faculty in 2002. A nationally recognized scholar in the field of African American history and the history of music, she is highly regarded as a dynamic role model, teacher, and mentor. Scott’s students consistently praise her for her accessibility, encouragement, and investment in their success.
Scott’s multiple affiliations indicate the breadth of her research and teaching, as well as her indispensable involvement in teaching and mentoring students. She helps prepare students for success by coaching them to share their research at URCAD and professional conferences.
She is in great demand as a graduate student instructor and mentor who creates deep and lasting ties with her mentees. Since 2012, she has served as the department’s director of graduate studies. Even prior to that appointment, graduate students have found their way to her office for advisement, mentoring, and moral support.
Scott also shares her expertise and enthusiasm for research, teaching, and diversity in the profession at large. Since 2006, she has participated in the Social Science Research Council/Mellon Mays Foundation’s Graduate Initiative. As part of that commitment, each fall she helps organize conferences where new assistant professors learn how to be successful in their careers. She was also invited to serve on the Social Science Research Council/Mellon Mays Planning and Advisory Committee, a tremendous honor and well-deserved recognition of her dedication to enhancing diversity in the academy, in the United States and abroad.
Scott received her B.A. from Stanford University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell University.