Ashley L Gray, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Higher Education
M.Ed. Higher Education Program Coordinator

Campus Address: DSU Downtown (Wilmington) 3931 Kirkwood Highway Wilmington, DE 19808

Email: agray [at] desu.edu

Education

• Bachelor of Arts, African American Stuides – Saint Louis University, 2009
• Master of Education, Adult & Higher Education Administration – University of Missouri-St. Louis, 2012
• Doctor of Philosophy, Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies – Howard University, 2020

Biography

Ashley Gray is the first graduate and recipient of the Doctorate of Philosophy degree from the Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies Program at Howard University. She holds an M.Ed. in Adult and Higher Education Administration from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a BA in African American Studies from Saint Louis University. She is a proud St. Louisan and hall of fame alumna of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater St. Louis.

As the former project leader for the American College President Study (2022), Ashley was instrumental in proposing and being awarded over $350,000 in funding while designing and innovating the scope of the historical survey. As a scholar, her research on women of color presidents led to an innovative research brief titled Voices from the Field: Women of Color Presidents in Higher Education, funded by TIAA. Additionally, Gray participated in the international brief series for higher education leaders, writing an essay on Black women and intersectionality. Gray has authored scholarly blogs, facilitated presidential roundtables, and authored multiple chapters on various topics, including LGBTQ+ student belonging, HBCUs and the pipeline to leadership for women in higher education.

Selected Publications

• Hubbard, K.M., Burris, A.M. & Gray, A.L. (2013).The post-secondary experiences of three Black female students. In D. Davis & P. Boyer (Eds.), Social justice issues and racism in the college classroom: Perspectives from different voices (pp. 171-194). Emerald Group Publishing- Limited.
• Commodore, F. & Gray, A.L. (2024).Inclusion Flows From the Top: The Role of Boards in Building Inclusive Campuses at HBCUs. In Mobley, S.D, Njoku, N., Johnson, J.N., Davis, L.P. (Eds.) Embracing Queer Students at HBCUs: A primer for presidents, administrators, and faculty.
• Gray, A. L., Hall, C.N, Andrews, K.E. & Clark, B. Finding Spaces to Breathe in the Academy (2023). In Fries-Britt, S. & Turner Kelly, B. (Eds.) Black women navigating the doctoral journey: Student peer support, mentorship and success in the academy. Routledge.

Reports/Briefs/White Papers

• Gray, A.L. (2023). The Invisible Checklist: Women of Color Leaders’ Ascension Implications. American Council on Education. https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Invisible-Checklist.pdf
• Gray, A.L. (2021, July). Black women and Intersectionality in Higher Education. Center for International Higher Education. Womens-Rep-in-Higher-Ed-Leadership-Around-the-World.pdf (acenet.edu)
• Gray, A.L. (2020, March). A seat at the table: Expanding the pipeline for women of color leaders in higher ed. Perspectives. https://www.ferris.edu/administration/academicaffairs/extendedinternatio…
• Gray, A. L., Chessman, H. & Howard E.L. (2018). Voices from the field: Women of color college presidents. The American Council on Education. https://www.tiaainstitute.org/sites/default/files/presentations/2018-12/…

Blogs

• Gray, A.L. (Forthcoming). Renaissance: The Role of Succession Planning in Diversifying the U.S. Presidential Pipeline. American Council on Education. https://www.higheredtoday.org/2023/06/26/renaissance-the-role-of-success…
• Gray, A.L., Crandall, J.R., & Taylor, M. (2019, October 21). The five percent: Considerations for investing in women of color. Higher Education Today. https://www.higheredtoday.org/2019/10/21/5-percent-action-steps-institut…
• Crandall, J. R., Gray, A. L. & Taylor, M. (2019). The equity imperative: women of color and the college presidency. The American Council of Education.

Selected Presenations

• (2023, November) “History of Queer Identities on HBCU Campuses and Black Community” (Human Rights Campaign)
• (2023, September) The Rose that Grew From Concrete: Women of the Global Majority in the U.S. College Presidency (American Council on Education- Moving the Needle Summit)
• (2022) Dismantling Systemic Racism on Higher Education Campuses (Summer Institute on Education Equity and Justice Conference- American University)
• (2021) It’s Time for Higher Education to Lead on Gender and Race Among Top Leadership (EOS Foundation)
• (2021) The diverse dimensions of gender equality in women’s higher education leadership (Center for Global Higher Education- London)
• (2020) Integrating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Into Your Workplace Culture (Circle of Change Virtual Leadership Experience)
• (2019) LGBTQ Activism at HBCUs (Human Rights Campaign- HBCU Initiative)
• (2019) Blacktivism: HBCU Activism (Human Rights Campaign- HBCU Initiative)
• (2019) The Importance of Blackademic Excellence (Howard University)
• (2019) Leading the Way to Parity: Preparation, Persistence and the Role of Women Presidents (Women of Higher Education Mississippi Network)

Professional Memberships

• Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)