KU News Release

Anthony Matthias Johnson

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More Information

• Department of Sociology

LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas junior is one of 10 students nationwide selected this fall for a graduate preparation program designed to help strengthen and diversify the pool of candidates in doctoral programs in education.

Anthony Matthias Johnson of Kansas City, Kan., who is a McNair Scholar and Dean’s Scholar at KU, was one of 320 university juniors to apply for the Grad Prep Academy at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

The multiyear program matches each of the 10 scholars with a mentor, provides a course to help students prepare for the Graduate Record Exam and offers to waive the graduate application fee if they choose to pursue a doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania. The goal is for each scholar to earn a doctorate through a top graduate program in education.

A less tangible benefit may be forming a bond with others like himself — young scholars passionate about changing the educational system. In November, Grad Prep Academy students met for the first time in Philadelphia. They met with Shaun R. Harper, a faculty member who researches race and gender disparities in higher education. As they learned about the potential of research to influence change, the 10 juniors talked about their hopes for education in general.

“We want to be the next generation to advocate for change in education. We call ourselves the Penn 10,” Johnson said after a four-day visit in Philadelphia. The young scholars were inspired to propose that their ideas might be worthy of a book on the need for change in education with proposals to make it happen.

“I can’t believe how fast we bonded,” Johnson said. “We were from different backgrounds and we approach problems in education differently, but we were all interested in how research can effect change.”

A graduate of Sumner Academy of Arts and Science, Johnson will be the first in his immediate family to earn a college degree (his maternal grandmother and a maternal uncle are KU alumni). He is the son of Jeffrey and Antrina Johnson, of Kansas City, Kan., and Jacquelyn Owens, of Kansas City, Mo. His parents playfully refer to him as “the doc” because of his plans to earn a doctorate. They recognized his potential early. The second youngest of seven children in a combined family, he excelled at French magnet schools in Kansas City, Mo. A sociology major, he is minoring in French and has been a guest lecturer on French culture for Upward Bound students at KU.

Describing himself as self-motivated and blessed with a love of learning, Johnson considered college a natural progression. Most of his high school friends did, too. It wasn’t until this summer while working as a McNair intern with an urban education specialist at KU that Johnson learned more than two-thirds of African-American men who enroll in colleges do not graduate. Johnson is African-American. He wondered why so few men like himself earn a degree.

Working with his intern director, John Rury, KU professor of education, Johnson wrote a paper examining “Parental Influence on African-American Male Pursuit of Higher Education.” Johnson plans to extend that study in fall 2010 with his Dean’s Scholar mentor, Shirley Hill, KU professor of sociology. Hill specializes in theories and implications of social inequalities and will advise Johnson’s honors thesis next fall. Johnson wants to examine how social interaction with faculty can influence academic success for African-American students.

In his own experience, Johnson says, “I have a lot of support at KU.” It began through youth programs at his church, Boone Tabernacle in Kansas City, Mo. There, Johnson met Eric Thompson, a retention specialist with KU’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, and Jomella Watson-Thompson, assistant professor of applied behavioral science. She is also a research associate with the KU Work Group for Community Health and Development, an affiliate of the Department of Applied Behavioral Science and the Life Span Institute. The two church youth leaders recognized Johnson’s potential.

Watson-Thompson encouraged Johnson to volunteer in his community and to consider KU.

“I think she saw something in me,” Johnson said. “She was stern but supportive of my educational goals. Her mentorship has influenced my decision to earn a doctorate and become a professor.”

At KU, Watson-Thompson introduced Johnson to another couple who also helped with his transition to college: Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett, professor of psychology and director of the University Honors Program, and Stephen Fawcett, Kansas Health Foundation Distinguished Professor of Applied Behavioral Science and director of the work group.

Through these and other KU faculty and staff, Johnson has found a network of encouragement to consider graduate school. In addition to the McNair and Dean’s Scholarships, Johnson is a Multicultural Scholar in social sciences. He works as a residence hall assistant and with the KU Work Group for Community Health and Development.

Johnson combines scholarships, loans and campus jobs to finance his education. He says, “if you are motivated to learn and have a passion for a career” money needn’t be a barrier to education.

“I originally was reluctant in taking out student loans, but I was reminded by a member of my church that these loans are actually investments for your future,” he said.