Biography
Nicole M. Joseph is the founder of the Tennessee March for Black Women in STEM, an event held every fall which seeks to bring together the Tennessee community to raise awareness of the gendered racism, Black women and girls experience in STEM. Her research explores two lines of inquiry, (a) Black women and girls, their identity development, and their experiences in mathematics (b) Whiteness, White Supremacy and how it operates and shapes underrepresentation of Black women and girls in mathematics. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Academy of Education/Spencer. Her research has been featured in top-tier journals and she co-edited the book "Interrogating Whiteness and Relinquishing Power: White Faculty’s Commitment to Racial Consciousness in the Classroom" (Peter Lang Publishing). Her forthcoming book is "Mathematizing Feminism: Black Girls’ and Women’s Experiences in the P-20 Mathematics Pipelines" (Harvard Education Press).Media Appearances
-
Girls’ superb verbal skills may contribute to the gender gap in math
“Society still feels like girls are not as smart, or should not be in math,” says Nicole Joseph, a mathematics education expert at Vanderbilt University who was not involved in the study.July 15th, 2019
-
5 Ways Society Sabotages Girls' Interest In Science And Math
Dr. Nicole Joseph is an Assistant Professor of mathematics and science education at Vanderbilt University. She recently delivered a thought-provoking lecture at the University of Georgia-hosted workshop called "Navigating STEM." Her lecture inspired me to explore five reasons girls avoid entry into STEM-related fields.June 9th, 2019
-
Keeping Girls in STEM: 3 Barriers, 3 Solutions
Additionally, research “has clearly [indicated] that black girls view themselves as outsiders in mathematics and teachers view them as outsiders,” says Nicole Joseph, assistant professor of mathematics and science education at Vanderbilt University. Joseph points to tracking in math, more common in middle and high school than in the humanities, as a key structure infused with bias that restricts access to rigorous math education for black students.March 12th, 2019
-
15 Black Women Who Are Paving The Way In STEM And Breaking Barriers
“There is significant underrepresentation,” says Nicole M. Joseph, Ph.D., an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and the author of the upcoming book Mathematizing Feminism: Black Girls’ and Women’s Experiences in the P-20 Mathematics Pipelines. “We need to disrupt our own negative experiences that we had in school around mathematics…. We need to tell our girls that they can do math.”February 13th, 2018
-
Nicole Joseph teaches math and advocates for educational opportunity
At an early age, Nicole Joseph was identified for her aptitude in math. The outgoing Seattle native was one of only a handful of black students at her elementary school selected for advanced placement math classes.October 13th, 2016
-
The Sistah Network Support Group at the University of Denver
Nicole M. Joseph, an assistant professor in the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver, has developed the Sistah Network, an organization that acts as a support group for Black women graduate students at the university.March 24th, 2015
Education
Ph.D., University of Washington
M.A., Pacific Oaks College Northwest
B.A., Seattle University
Additional Resources
Normalizing Black Girls' Humanity in Mathematics Classrooms
The sistah network: Enhancing the educational and social experiences of Black women in the academy
24/7 BROADCAST STUDIO
VUStar is a broadcast facility that links experts to you 24/7. The studio offers HD and SD transmission and an ISDN line for radio interviews. The studio, staffing and phone lines are free when using Vanderbilt experts.