Tracae McClure

Tracae Mack McClure is a Doctoral student in the Higher Education Administration program at The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development. Upon graduating from Hampton University Tracae served as a Teach for America Algebra I teacher in Durham, North Carolina. From her first-hand perspective on the inadequacies students experienced Tracae decided to pursue a Master’s degree in Educational Research at The University of Memphis to better understand these issues. Tracae’s research interests on the current state of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), higher education policy, and college access derive from her undergraduate experience and internships with the United Negro College Fund’s (UNCF) Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute and White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Currently Tracae is completing a Doctoral fellowship with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and her dissertation examining the impact of Parent PLUS Loans on minority students. Tracae plans to use her academic background to identify possible solutions in providing underrepresented students access to a postsecondary degree and ways HBCUs are best able to assist the nation in this work. More about Tracae’s perspective on the state of HBCUs is showcased on a blog (www.stateofhbcus.wordpress.com) she created with her husband Brian McClure.