Rate My Professor Natasha Croom

Dr. Natasha N. Croom serves as Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs in the Graduate School and Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs in the College of Education at Clemson University. She earned her Ph.D. in Education with a specialization in Higher Education Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Applied Research Methods from Iowa State University in 2011, an M.S. in Education focused on Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education from Texas A&M University in 2005, and a B.A. in Psychology from Texas A&M University–Kingsville in 2003. Her professional career began as an Assistant Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs at Iowa State University from 2011 to 2016. At Clemson University, she advanced from Assistant Professor (2016–2020) to Associate Professor (2020–present) of Higher Education and Student Affairs, served as Special Advisor to the Dean for Inclusive Excellence in the College of Education (2020–2021), and assumed her current associate dean role in 2021. In this capacity, she oversees graduate admissions, student academic progress, orientation, funding initiatives including assistantships and fellowships, recognition awards, and the Inclusive Excellence Strategic Plan. She chairs the Graduate Council and Graduate Fellowships and Awards Committee, applying an equity lens to support graduate student success across campus.

A critical race feminist scholar-practitioner, Dr. Croom's research centers on access, development, and success for Black women faculty and students, faculty advancement for women, and equity theory, policy, and practice in higher education. Her scholarship appears in outlets such as The Review of Higher Education, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, and Equity & Excellence in Education. Notable publications include co-editing Applying Black Feminist Epistemology, Research, and Praxis: Narratives in and through the Academy (Routledge, 2022), Critical Perspectives on Black Women and College Success (Routledge, 2017), and Envisioning Critical Race Praxis in Higher Education through Counter-Storytelling (Sense Publishers, 2016). Key articles feature Promotion beyond Tenure: Unpacking Racism and Sexism in the Experiences of Black Womyn Professors (The Review of Higher Education, 2017) and Doing the Work: Curating Resistance and Solidarity Among Black and Chicana Womyn Faculty (International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 2021). Dr. Croom has garnered major awards, including Senior Scholar from the American College Personnel Association (2025), NASPA Robert H. Shaffer Award for Academic Excellence as a Graduate Faculty Member (2025), Southern Regional Education Board Mentor of the Year (2023), and Clemson University's Martin Luther King Award for Excellence in Service (2023). She holds leadership positions as Co-Editor in Chief of NASPA's Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education, a Board of Directors member and Chair of the Council for Ethnic Participation in the Association for the Study of Higher Education, and Senior Scholar designee in ACPA-College Student Educators International. Previously, she served on editorial boards for the Journal of College Student Development and Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.