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Biography of John Matlock, PhD.
The University of Michigan
John Matlock is Associate Vice Provost in the Office of the provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Michigan. The Provost is the chief academic officer of the University and has responsibility for the Universtiy's academic and budgetary affairs. He also directs U-M's Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives (OAMI). OAMI has been recognized nationally for its ability to use diverse groups of staff, faculty and students to advance campus diversity initiatives, implement innovative programs in the areas of student academic success, and involve diverse students in leadership, student research and pre-college mentoring activitites. Through his leadership, the office has been able to secure over $3.0 million in research and program funding from various sources including the Ford Foundation, Alcoa Foundation, Kodak, Michigan Dept. of Career Development, and private donors.
Dr. Matlock also serves as one of the principal architects of the Michigan Student Study (http://www.umich.edu/~oami/mss/). This nationally recognized research project is a longitudinal study of the University of Michigan's students, and examines how diversity initiatives and policies impact students during their four years on campus. This social science research was used to help establish the educational benefits of a diverse student body, which was one of the highlights of U-M lawsuits decided in the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision on the use of reace in higher education admissions. Eight PhD. dissertations have been produced from this ongoing research, which is currently supported by the Ford Foundation.
Prior to returning to the University of Michigan, the native Detroiter served nearly a decade as chief of staff to U.S. Representative John Conyers of Michigan and U.S. Representative Harold Ford of Tennessee. He also has been a journalist and a journalism faculty at several institutions.
Dr. Matlock, who dropped out of high school and worked on an automotive assembly line for five years, holds a bachelor of science in Business Administration from Ferris State University, and a master of arts in Journalism from the University of Michigan as well as a PhD. in higher education from the University of Michigan's prestigious Center for the Study of Higher & Postsecondary Education.
Dr. Matlock has presented at more than 100 national conferences and various campuses, and discusses topics such as campus diversity and strategic planning, the impact of diversity on students, and how the Superemem Court's ruling has impacted the higher education community. He has given presentations or done diversity consulting work at various higher education institutions. He and his wife, Dr. Margaret Scisney Matlock, have co-authored a book chapter on mentoring students of color (Scisney-Matlock, M. & Matlock, J.) "Promoting understanding of diversity through mentoring undergraduate students", in Beyond Teaching to Mentoring, New Directions for Teaching and Learning Series. Reinarz, Alice and White, Eric (Eds.). Number 85 San Francisco: Jossey-Bass).
Despite his own accomplishments, he still values having the opportunity to work for, and with, a number of individuals who have had long standing commitments to the struggle for social justice, respect and equality for people of color. His association with Rosa Parks is something that he holds very special because it was Mrs. Parks, while employed by Congressman Conyers until her retirement, who taught him that one person can make a difference in life, and that a person must be committed to one's principles throughout life because the struggles for equality and dignity are never finished.