STAFF
Walter M. Kimbrough, Ph.D.
Interim Director
Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough is the interim executive director of the Morehouse College Black Men’s Research Institute (BMRI), a first-of-its-kind institute dedicated to the in-depth, nuanced, and intersectional study of Black men, their impact, and societal influences. A distinguished educator and higher education administrator, Kimbrough previously served as the 12th president of Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Ark., and most recently as the seventh president of Dillard University in New Orleans, La. He has also held leadership roles in student affairs at Emory University, Georgia State University, Old Dominion University, and Albany State University. An Atlanta native, Kimbrough graduated as salutatorian from Benjamin Elijah Mays High School, which is named after the sixth president of Morehouse College, and later received his Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Georgia, a Master of Science in college student personnel services from Miami University, and a Ph.D. in higher education from Georgia State University.
Kimbrough is an internationally recognized voice in higher education with a respected reputation for his research, published writings, and advocacy for African American men in college, historically Black colleges and universities, and fraternities and sororities, particularly historically Black, Latin, and Asian organizations.
Derrick M. Bryan, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Dr. Derrick M. Bryan is the associate director of the Morehouse College Black Men’s Research Institute. He also serves as an associate professor in the Sociology Department at Morehouse and executive director of the HBCU STEM Undergraduate Success Research Center (HBCU STEM-US), a collaboration between Morehouse, Spelman College, and Virginia State University to perpetuate excellence in STEM education at historically Black colleges and universities through research focused on pedagogy, academic cultures, and student support. He is the director of the Frederick Douglass Academic Success Center at Morehouse and has served as a faculty development fellow, and an A.D.I.S.A fellow. Prior to joining the faculty at Morehouse, Bryan was an assistant professor in the Department of Gender and Race Studies at the University of Alabama. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports. He has also presented at conferences around the world. Dr. Bryan’s research areas include career attainment, scientific literacy, and sociocultural factors in health behaviors.
Dr. Bryan graduated cum laude from Morehouse with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology with a minor in biology. He earned a Master of Arts in sociology and a Ph.D. in sociology from The Ohio State University. His dissertation topic was “To Parent or Provide: The Effect of The Provider Role on Disadvantaged Men’s Decisions about Fatherhood and Paternal Engagement.”
