Re'Nyqua Farrington, a graduate student in the UC Riverside School of Education, has been awarded the prestigious NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship, a national honor recognizing exceptional doctoral research to improve education.
Farrington is one of 35 doctoral students selected from roughly 500 applicants nationwide for the fellowship, which is funded by the Spencer Foundation and administered through the National Academy of Education. The award provides $27,500 to support dissertation research that brings fresh perspectives to the study and practice of education.
Farrington is pursuing a Ph.D. in education, society, and culture. Her work draws on her own experiences attending and student teaching in predominantly Black public schools in the South. Her dissertation focuses on the experiences of Black former high school students who encountered school policing and surveillance systems in U.S. schools.
As part of the project, Farrington plans to create community resources, such as a magazine or online archive, that participants and advocacy organizations can use beyond the life of the study.
“Receiving this award provides immense support for my dissertation and the communities at the center of this dissertation,” Farrington said. “The most meaningful aspect of receiving this award is that it helps finance the materials or software for these resources and alleviates the need for me to work full time while researching alongside Black communities in Los Angeles and Atlanta.”
Farrington said the fellowship will allow her to deepen her work with research participants and strengthen relationships within the communities involved in the project.
“I'm currently reaching out to folks to participate in my study and seeking ways to build meaningful relationships with both communities at each of my research sites beyond this dissertation project,” she said.