First in the World Grant Leadership Team

Jimmeka Guillory Wright, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
Giles Hall, Room 307
404-270-5807 | jguillo1@spelman.edu

Angelino Viceisza, Ph.D.
Research Designer
Professor, Department of Economics
Giles Hall, Room 403
404-270-6055 | aviceisz@spelman.edu

A. Nayena Blankson, Ph.D.
Statistician
Professor, Department of Psychology
Giles Hall, Room 323
404-270-5658 | ablanks1@spelman.edu

Jarod Apperson
Statistician
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics
Giles Hall, Room 402
japperso@spelman.edu

Retired

Francesina R. Jackson, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator

After seven and one-half years of service, Dr. Francesina Jackson retired from Spelman College on January 31, 2020.  Most recently, Dr. Jackson served as principal investigator on the U.S. Department of Education First in the World (FITW) project, a randomized controlled trial on the impact of meta-cognition on student academic performance. The project resulted in four publications by and about the project and more than 10 presentations documenting the implementation and outcomes of a field-based study in Spelman’s signature course, African Diaspora and the World. The FITW project identified significant, positive changes in classroom behavior of students and instructors.

Posthumous

Bruce H. Wade, Ph.D., served Spelman College for 31 years and was the original statistician on the FITW Leadership team. A professor in the sociology and anthropology department since 1987, he specialized in analyses of college student health attitudes and behaviors, the sociology of health, health care and wellness, research methodology and computer applications. Deeply involved in community research, education and evaluation research/consulting, he conducted seminars and training sessions in these areas across the state of Georgia.

Natasha Emmanuel, PRF Coordinator

Dacia Myree, Program and Data Coordinator