Dominique Horton, a PhD candidate in social work at the Brown School, was inducted into the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society at the annual Bouchet Conference on Diversity in Graduate Education, March 31-April 1 at Yale University.
Named after the first African American doctoral recipient in the United States, the honor society recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and promotes diversity and excellence in doctoral education and the professoriate. Its network of pre-eminent scholars exemplifies academic and personal excellence, character, service, and advocacy for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the academy.
“It was an honor to be inducted alongside 121 other scholars from across the country who are committed to being agents of change in their respective disciplines,” she said. Horton added that the honor has left her encouraged and with a fresher vision for the future.
Horton’s work aims to dismantle systemic racism in and around schools. She seeks to expand the ways urban educators, parents, community stakeholders, other researchers and policymakers think about how racism impacts academic, social-emotional and family well-being outcomes, particularly for African American families and their children.
Horton is one of four Washington University PhD students inducted this year into the Bouchet Graduate Honor Society. They were celebrated during a reception on April 11 at the Danforth University Center.
“I am grateful to have already begun to expand my network, not just with other Bouchet scholars from across the U.S., but also with the three other amazingly accomplished inductees and current chapter members here at Washington University. They each carry a deep commitment to justice, advocacy, and authenticity that I admire.”
The Bouchet Society is named for Edward Alexander Bouchet – the first African American to earn a doctorate from an American university, graduating from Yale University with a PhD in physics in 1876.