Toby S. Jenkins

Toby Jenkins is an Associate Professor in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies and Director of the Museum of Education at the University of South Carolina. Her work focuses on the utility of culture (contemporary culture, folk culture, and pop culture) as a politic of social survival, a tool of social change, and a transformative space of non-traditional knowledge production. She also education as both a space of oppression and liberation. She has authored four previous books focused on the evolving ideologies of culture, family, and education in contemporary society. "My Culture, My Color, My Self: Heritage, Resilience and Community in the Lives of Young Adults" (Temple University Press, 2013) was named by the Association of American University Press to the list of "Top 100 Books for Understanding Race Relations in the US". "Family, Community, & Higher Education" (Routledge Press, 2012) is an edited volume that explores the critical role of family and community in the lives of first generation college students. “The Open Mic Night: Campus Programs that Champion College Student Voice and Engagement” (Stylus Press, 2017) focuses on integrating hip hop culture into activist educational spaces. It received a 2018 AERA Special Recognition for Outstanding Edited Volume in Curriculum Studies. Her most recent book, Culture, Community, and Educational Success: Reimagining the Invisible Knapsack (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019) contributes to the base of scholarship on cultural capital and assets. Prior to becoming faculty, Jenkins spent 10 years serving as an administrative leader in diversity and inclusion in higher education.

Publications

Footsteps: Wisdom and Insight Into Navigational Capital for New Black Women Diversity Officers
Toby S. Jenkins, Coretta Jenerette, Michelle L. Bryan, Shirley S. Carter. © 2023. 22 pages.
This chapter is a collaboration between four Black women (Toby, Coretta, Michelle, and Shirley) who currently serve as diversity officers in higher education. Each author has...
Reshaping Graduate Education Through Innovation and Experiential Learning
Toby S. Jenkins. © 2021. 301 pages.
Discussions on the importance and impact of pedagogical practice on students as whole persons are often concentrated on the P-12 or undergraduate learning experience. In higher...
Education, Community, and Social Engagement: Re-Imagining Graduate Education
Toby S. Jenkins. © 2021. 18 pages.
In many higher education and student affairs graduate programs the responsibility for providing field-based learning often falls on the graduate assistantship. Programs often...
Education, Community, and Social Engagement: Re-Imagining Graduate Education
Toby S. Jenkins. © 2019. 18 pages.
In many higher education and student affairs graduate programs the responsibility for providing field-based learning often falls on the graduate assistantship. Programs often...