Dr. Fred A. Bonner II is Professor and Endowed Chair in Educational Leadership and Counseling and Founding Executive Director of the Achievement, Research, Creativity and High Ability (ARCH-III) Center at Prairie View A&M University. He is formerly the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University and an esteemed expert in the field of diversity in education. Prior to joining Rutgers, he was Professor of Higher Education Administration and Dean of Faculties at Texas A&M University-College Station. He earned a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of North Texas, an M.S. Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Baylor University, and an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration & College Teaching from the University of Arkansas. Throughout his career, his work has consistently been centered on micro-cultural populations developing attitudes, motivations, and strategies to survive in macro-cultural settings.
This social justice philosophy has led him to publish numerous articles, books, and book chapters related to these subjects: academically gifted African American male college students in varying postsecondary contexts (Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Predominantly White Institutions, and Community Colleges); teaching in the multicultural college classroom; diversity issues in student affairs; diverse millennial students in college; success factors influencing the retention of students of color in higher education and in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields in particular; and faculty of color in predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Bonner has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Association for Higher Education Black Caucus Dissertation Award and the Educational Leadership, Counseling and Foundation’s Dissertation of the Year Award from the University of Arkansas College of Education. His work has been featured nationally and internationally. He is the author of the recently released book, Building on Resilience: Models and Frameworks of Black Male Success Across the P-20 Pipeline. He also is the Founding Editor of the Journal of Minority Achievement, Creativity and Leadership (JMACL) with Penn State University Press and Editor of the Book Series Diverse Faculty in the Academy with Routledge.