09/18/2026
For 20 years, the Educational Leadership program has been shaped by dedicated faculty who teach, mentor, research, and inspire the next generation of leaders. To celebrate this milestone, we are shining a spotlight on the people behind the program: their expertise, experiences, research, and the impact they make both inside and outside the classroom.
This Faculty Feature Friday is Dr. Roslin Growe. She joined the University in 1986 as the department’s first female tenure-track faculty member and later became its first African American woman to serve as department head. Her career at UL Lafayette spans four decades of teaching, academic leadership, research, and mentorship.
Dr. Growe earned a Bachelor of Science in Education in Speech and Drama and a Master of Science in Education in Secondary Education from Ouachita Baptist University. She subsequently earned a Master of Library and Media Science in Library and Information Science from the University of Mississippi and a Doctor of Education in Educational Administration and Supervision from Mississippi State University.
Throughout her career, Dr. Growe has taught undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral courses in education and educational leadership. She has also chaired and served on numerous dissertation committees at UL Lafayette and other institutions. Her research interests include educational leadership, teaching, multicultural education, gender equity, workplace issues, and the experiences of women and African American educators in educational organizations. She developed numerous graduate and doctoral courses, including Race and Gender in K-12 Schools, Critical Analysis of Current Research, Crisis Management in Educational Leadership, Heterogeneity in Higher Education, and Educational Systems Alignment.
Dr. Growe has delivered scholarly presentations at regional, national, and international conferences for more than 30 years. She has presented research at meetings of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME), the Research Association of Minority Professors (RAMP), the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education, and numerous state and regional organizations. Her presentations have addressed critical issues including educational equity, leadership development, multicultural education, teacher preparation, school discipline, higher education climate, social-emotional learning, Black male educators, and the experiences of women and minorities in educational settings.
Dr. Growe is especially recognized for her commitment to mentoring future educational leaders and advancing belonging in education. Her professional service includes leadership in multicultural education organizations, including serving as President of the Louisiana chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education and as Secretary, Vice President, and ultimately President of the Research Association of Minority Professors. She has also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association for Multicultural Education in recognition of her contributions and the Frank T. Hawkins Distinguished Scholar Award.
Dr. Growe's scholarly contributions have focused on educational leadership, parental involvement, multicultural education, gender equity, workplace issues, and the experiences of women and African American educators. Her work includes publications in numerous national and international journals, as well as book chapters examining educational equity, social-emotional learning, and inclusive educational practices. A dedicated mentor-scholar, she regularly partners with doctoral students on research projects, publications, and professional presentations, helping to cultivate the next generation of educational researchers. Her commitment to the profession extends beyond her own scholarship through her service as a reviewer for the American Educational Research Association and numerous academic journals.
A respected scholar, mentor, and leader, Dr. Growe has made enduring contributions to UL Lafayette and to the advancement of educational leadership.
