Board Vice President, Equity-centric Educational Outreach and Programs
Territa Upchurch-Poole
Dr. Territa Upchurch-Poole is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Juniata College. Her academic and professional background are broadly related to the pursuit of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion within a variety of contexts. Territa was born in Chicago, Illinois, but spent her formative years living in Ann Arbor, Michigan during the time her father was completing his doctoral degree in biostatistics at the University of Michigan. She also spent significant time living and working in Tallahassee, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama.
For as long as she can remember, Territa has enjoyed, and has been committed to, the performing arts, including having spent many years playing clarinet in both marching and symphonic bands, and supporting her daughter who spent 16 years as a dancer, and her son who plays the tuba, euphonium, and bass guitar. Living in a multicultural and inclusive environment in Ann Arbor brought great opportunity to explore the vast diversity of the arts, and Territa says she’s honored to join Confluence in our efforts to cultivate radical inclusion in ballet.
Territa earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and English from the University of West Alabama; a Master of Science degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of West Alabama, a Graduate Certificate in the History of North American Slavery & Contemporary Social Issues from the University of West Alabama, a Master of Science in Educational Psychology from The University of Alabama, and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from The University of Alabama.
Additionally, Territa earned an Advanced Certificate in Research Methods with Diverse Racial, Ethnic, & Cultural Populations, through which she completed extensive coursework in Multicultural Education; Critical Curriculum Theory; Race, Gender, & Identity Studies; and Research Methods & Statistics.
At Juniata, Territa is a teacher, researcher, committee member, advocate, and equity champion. Her collaborative work resulted in several major policy changes to support the success and retention of students from underrepresented backgrounds; following this service, she was elected to the Faculty Retention Committee where she now co-leads efforts to use theory and data-driven insight to ensure equity in both academic and social outcomes for BIPOC and other marginalized student populations.
In Dr. Poole’s own psychology lab she partners with her students as they engage in Belonging and Justice Participatory Action Research. Her goal is to get students excited about research by connecting the rigorous investigation of social problems to phenomena that are personally meaningful and relevant to their own lives. A complementary component of Dr. Poole’s lab work involves the development, implementation, and evaluation of Equity-centric programs, which includes Summer of Y.O.U., a novel academic bridge and social transition program, and the creation of the Multicultural Faculty Alliance, which acts as a resource and support group for faculty from diverse backgrounds/diverse identities. Dr. Poole teaches a broad swath of courses which include Social Psychology, Research Methods, Statistics, Psychology of Emotion, Poverty Studies, and Cultural Psychology.
In her free time, Territa enjoys reading and visiting museums and historical sites. She is also a marathon runner and has completed 16 full marathons, including qualifying for and completing the prestigious Boston Marathon.