Spotlight - Dr. Hicks

Dr. Hicks thrives on research and has spent countless hours researching a variety of topics that range from the spritiuality of African American college students to profiles of student stress behaviors among college students. Often, his research focuses on college students. As a result, Dr. Hicks is becoming a nationally and internationally known source on topics focusing on college students.

Recently, Dr. Hicks was among a team of national researchers to be invited by the Detroit News and USA Today to discuss his research findings on the impact of parental involvement and stress among African American college students respectively.

Dr. Hicks has been focusing his research around college students since 2000. In his study on the impact of parental involvement among college students, which included scholars from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan, Dr. Hicks found that first-generation college students were more motivated to obtain a college degree than non-first generation college students. In a Detroit News/Channel 7 survey sponsored by Your Child and the Skillman Foundation conducted by EPIC-MRA, Dr. Hicks spoke about the findings of the study and also shared his own experiences involving his parent's expectations about attending college.

"Most of my research has been on first-generation college students," Hicks said. "I was the first in my family to obtain a doctorate degree. Since 1996, I've always taught at a college or university and my interest was in retaining them."

Dr. Hicks has published in numerous refereed journals. He has also been cited by various national and international researchers in their studies. Dr. Hicks' name is associated with his research and as a result, he regularly receives requests to speak at national conferences and participate in discussion panels on related topics.

"It helps when I present at national conferences, etc. Other researchers recognize you at the conference... eventually you will become one of the top researchers in the field... after 10-20-30 years of researching and publishing in top-tier journals... your name becomes recognized." Hicks said.

Dr. Hicks is continually working on several research projects. Among them is a multi-generational study of a Virginia county school which chose to close its doors rather than integrate white and blacks during desegregation. Dr. Hicks noted that this proposed exploratory study will utilize a sequential mixed method study design and will examine the impact of the lockout on the educational pursuits of those African-American students who went through the struggle. In its second phase, this study will examine the educational pursuits of the children of those African-American individuals affected by the lockout. This proposed study focuses on two generations of individuals.

Additionally, Dr. Hicks has also involved graduate students in his research. Most recently, Hicks and Liwei Tang, and international student in the Educational Leadership program, co-authored a research study entitled, "Lifestyles, Stressors and Health Status: Differences among On-Campus and Off-Campus College Students." The study is due to be published in the fall of 2007 edition of the Journal of Higher Education Excellence.

Dr. Hicks also was selected to serve a quantitative researcher and team member for developing a Comprehensive Regional Growth Plan for the Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base Base Area (BRAC Growth Plan). Dr. Hicks and Dr. Robert Taylor, assistant superintendent for Clinton City Schools and doctoral student in the Fayetteville State University's educational leadership program, were assigned Task 5: Assessing the Higher Education needs component of the project.

"I love research. I'm passionate about research and I love for other researchers to contact me and request my research or request and instrument that I've developed and use it in a study. I think that's more rewarding than anything else," Hicks said.

Dr. Hicks teaches Statistics, Quantitative Research and Research Methods and the Educational Leadership doctoral program and Fayetteville State. He also chairs dissertation committees. "I love it. I enjoy teaching research courses." Dr. Hicks' published research can be viewed on his faculty web site at http://faculty.uncfsu.edu/thicks.