Longtime professor Ethel Young Scurlock has been selected as interim dean of the Sally McDonald Barksdale Honors College. She assumes this position from Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez, who held the position for over a decade.
The bookshelves that line the walls of her new office are almost bare, but the first-floor office is brimming with positive energy. Cheerful welcome notes cover the whiteboard directly across from where Scurlock sits, welcoming, behind her desk.
Growing up in Memphis and attending The University of Tennessee for undergrad, Scurlock decided she wanted to spend some time in the Midwest. She describes her time in the Midwest, earning her master’s and PhD in English at Bowling Green State University, as enlightening.
“It really stretched my understanding of identity and difference and expanded my intellectual base of course but I wanted to come back down south,” Scurlock said.
Scurlock accepted a position as a professor of English and African American Studies in the late nineties, planning to be elsewhere by the turn of the millennium. But like many, she found herself stuck in the Velvet Ditch.
“I came here in 1996, thinking that I would be here only four or five years, and it’s been 25 years,” she said. “They have been years of joy, celebration, love and support.”
Though she began as a professor, Scurlock has always had a passion for student engagement and frequently works with students outside the classroom. She served as the advisor of the university’s gospel choir, leading them to a Grammy nomination. During her time as the program’s advisor, they traveled around the country performing and it was through this proximity to the students and their families that Scurlock realized the impact she could have on students’ lives.
“Though I was a professor, it almost felt like I was in student affairs because I was arranging these trips and travelling with students and getting to know families. And that made me fall in love with Mississippi. Those families became a part of my family,” she said. “So, I realized early on that the weight I was carrying was not just about me and not what I would ever give to this space academically. It was about what it meant to emotionally and spiritually change what it meant to be a student at this place, especially for African-American students.”
It was that same passion for student engagement that led her to assume the position of Senior Fellow of the Luckyday Residential College, a position she has held since the RC’s opening in 2010. Scurlock also has a long history of involvement with the Honors College, teaching in the college for almost 20 years. She has also led several student theses, served on the advisory council and has been a member of the admissions committee for about four or five years.
“I’ve always been a vocal advocate for honors education,” she said.
Sullivan Gonzalez’s last day was set to be Aug. 17, but by the time of the interview on Aug. 13. Scurlock had already assumed all duties.
“Doug (Sullivan-Gonzalez) was very helpful. He came in and talked about some of the policies and practices they have as a college, but also was like, it’s your turn. Have your way, we trust your leadership,” she said. “He stepped out of all decision making, but in a very cordial way. He didn’t abandon the program, he stepped out to allow a full and robust and effective transition. It’s been really good.”
One of the first things Scurlock wants to do is call attention to all the work Honors College staff does, behind the scenes.
“The staff members we have are incredible. I mean, they’re just fabulous from the recruiters to the associate deans, they work so hard but the work that they do is really invisible,” she said. “We don’t highlight it. We don’t publicize it. And I want to celebrate their work and publicize their work a lot more.”
In addition to publicizing the work that Honors College staff does, Scurlock wants to place emphasis on access. That is, making sure Mississippians statewide know about the potential opportunity they have at their state’s flagship.
“They’ve done a great job recruiting Mississippi students. I mean, being on the admissions committee, we’re always looking at Mississippi students, but I want to make sure that more of our Mississippi students know who we are,” she said. “We don’t have a lot of kids that apply from Ruleville or Greenwood. I mean, there are just a lot of areas that we miss.”
Scurlock strives to make the presence of the Honors College known, while fostering an environment of inclusivity that all students can thrive in.
“If they look at us and decide they don’t want to apply, fine, but what about the ones that never have the opportunity to look at us? I want more Mississippians to at least look at us and apply,” she said. “I want to make sure that students in rural areas know that this is available for them to apply for, to and I also want students who feel excluded by this because of race or gender identity, whatever it is, I want everybody to feel like this is a place where they that they know about that they can apply and that they can come here and thrive. ”
Moving forward, Scurlock wants to continue to produce the family environment that draws so many to the Honors College.
“I feel like this is an incredible place to be in and I feel like we should have more of a family atmosphere. I think we need to make sure we’re producing it for our freshmen and sophomores. We have to be ever aware of the fact that our sophomores missed a true genuine freshman experience,” she says. “So, I want to make sure there’s a family environment where people understand that our doors are always open to support them in every way that we can academically.”
Scurlock said she also wants to continue creating spaces where Honors College students are encouraged to push boundaries, intellectually. She is also striving to improve retention.
“I want to make sure that students feel like they’re being intellectually challenged and pushed continually. That they feel like they’re in the classroom with the best professors, that they’re having real life, high impact experiences,” she said. “We’ve been increasing our graduation rate. And I want to make sure that we continue to increase it – that we’re not losing scholars because we’re not having a touching impact.”
When asked what advice she had for all university students, Scurlock offers simple but powerful advice.
“My parents always taught me you’re not better than anybody else. And you’re not lower than anybody else. Always treat every person as if you are on the same level. And as if they matter, because they do.”
Overall, Scurlock said she is thankful for this opportunity to preside as interim dean of the college, and plans to move forward with her motto in mind.
“I try to do the best I can, in all the places that I can, to all the people that I can. That’s kind of my motto. I just do the best I can every day,” she said. “I’m always at peace because I know I’m giving my best in every moment.”
