Alston a pioneer at AU who leads and mentors doctoral students

ASHLAND, Ohio – As the first Black woman to become a full professor at Ashland University, Judy Alston is a pioneer. However, she sees herself simply as a leader and a teacher, whether in the classroom or at the pulpit, and she’s looking to help others reach their full potential.

Alston serves as the director of AU’s Doctorate in Leadership Studies, a program that will be celebrating 25 years this May. She has become synonymous with the program, having been part of it for more than half of its existence. Alston has been the program director 12 of the last 14 years, putting her personal stamp on it.

Designed for working professionals who seek to enhance their leadership capacity in a variety of fields—K-12 education, higher education, government and human service organizations—the Doctorate in Leadership Studies has been very successful, with more than 150 thriving alumni. Under Alston’s watch, it has particularly excelled with a completion rate above 80 percent, which she notes is “awesome for doctoral programs.”

Alston credits the success in great part to an honest and ongoing assessment, quipping that her seven deadly words are “we have always done it that way.” Instead, an open communication with students going through the program allows her team to excel “at analyzing and critiquing ourselves, so that we can make changes along the way.”

Two examples: Alston and company recently fast-tracked the option for an executive delivery of the program to meet student demand. They have also differentiated the traditional delivery format by preparing students to be “transformative professionals who are able to provide equitable, ethical and socially just leadership in a variety of organizational settings within a diverse society.”

A more just and socially conscious world is by no means an in-vogue concept for Alston. It is something she has been striving for since she was a young teacher in South Carolina. Alston aspired to move into administration, but she was told there was “already” one Black female assistant principal in the district. Alston clearly understood the not-so-subtle hint, but was undeterred and went on to earn a Ph.D. in educational administration from Penn State University. While completing her dissertation on “Black Female School Superintendents and Success,” she felt called to higher education as a career track.

And, 25 years later, Alston’s passion still shows. She is administering, advising, serving as a scholarly resource and teaching a subject that can make a substantial difference in one’s career. “I love leadership and all of the possibilities that it offers. I love all the places I can go talking about it and modeling it,” she said.

Alston is also a woman with strong convictions rooted in faith—she is an ordained pastor in the Christian Church of Disciples of Christ—and firmly believes that God steered her to Ashland to not only break barriers but to serve as a mentor for scores of students, as well as fellow faculty and staff.

“God always brings me back to Ashland because there is something that God has for me to do at Ashland and I merely look at my students and that’s it. It’s the students. Many of these students would not have made it had I not stayed at Ashland, so they’re my reason,” said Alston, who has chaired 56 dissertations during her academic career. “It goes back to Ashland’s Accent on the Individual. We truly embody that here.”