Deborah Francis

Clinical Assistant Professor in Occupational Therapy at D'Youville University in Buffalo, New York
Doctor of Science in Rehabilitation and Health Leadership at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario
Master of Science in Occupational Therapy, D'Youville University, Buffalo, New York

Summary of doctoral research:
Our research focuses on the perspectives of racialized students in higher education. In the literature, there is a gap describing the experiences of racialized students in mid-size Canadian higher education institutions, such as Queen’s University. Also, there are limited opportunities for racialized students to develop justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion education resources for faculty and staff that best meet the needs of racialized students. Critical Race Theory is the theoretical framework guiding our research by highlighting and investigating how power structures foster societal racial imbalance. A Community Based Participatory Research approach promotes shared decision-making/governance and prioritizes the experiences of racialized students throughout the entire research process by recruiting steering committee. The steering committee consists of five racialized students at Queen’s who work with me to reimagine higher education that is accessible and responsible for all students – especially those for whom existing programs, practices, and policies have silenced their voices and limited their successes.