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Tomika L. Ferguson, Ph.D.

Asst. Dean, Student Affairs; Asst. Professor, Educational Leadership

Tomika L. Ferguson, Ph.D.

Education

  • Ph.D. in higher education, Indiana University – Bloomington
  • M.S.Ed. in higher education and student affairs, Indiana University – Bloomington
  • B.A. in American studies and African-American and African studies, University of Virginia

Research interests

Black Women and Student-Athletes in Higher Education; Athlete Activism and Social Justice; College Access and Student Success; Inclusive Leadership

Career highlights

  • Founder of the Black Athlete Sister Circle (BASC) program (2016-present)
  • American College Personnel Association (ACPA) – International Pan-African Network 2024 Annual 30 under 40 Sawubona Class - Civic and Community Engagement (2024)
  • Federal Bureau of Investigation - Richmond Citizens’ Academy. (2023)
  • VCU School of Education Exceptional Team Award - Office for Student Affairs (2022)

Recent publications

Ferguson, T. & Fine, C. (In press). Navigating intersections: How stereotypes and oppression shape Black women student-athletes’ college journeys. Journal of Athlete Development and Experience. 

Schweinbenz, A. & Ferguson, T. (2025). With great risk comes great reward: The role of white women co-conspirators transforming the future of higher education. In Lauricella, S., Sandill, S., &  Moeke-Pickering, T. (Eds.) Women Transforming the Future of Higher Education, 215-242.

Ferguson, T., Frederick, E., Brown, L., Kluch, Y., Hancock, M., & Siegfried, N. (2024). “I was in a position to enact change:” College athletes’ use of social media for racial and social justice. Communication & Sport, 13(4), 686–712. 

Kluch, Y., Hancock, M. G., Siegfried, N., Brown, L. E. C., Ferguson, T. L., & Frederick, E. L. (2024). “You always had to be very careful:” Mapping civil leisure constraints for collegiate athletes engaging in social media activism. Leisure Sciences, 1-22.

*Ferguson, T., *Naff, D., Lenhardt, J., Jefferson, A., Moore, I., Herndon, A., Ashburn, R., Harris, J., & Conlee, J., & Forstmann, C. (2024). Exploring perceptions of advanced coursework enrollment practices: A multiple case study. Richmond, VA: Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium.

Ferguson, T. (2023). Safe space as resistance. Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, Special Issue, 121-14

Bio

Dr. Tomika L. Ferguson is the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership in the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Ferguson’s research centers on the intersection of race, gender, sport, and educational equity. Her work examines the experiences of Black girls and women in K-12 and higher education, college sports and athletic identity, activism and agency, and inclusive and equitable leadership practices for leaders in education, non-profits, athletics, and corporate spaces. Dr. Ferguson is the founder of the Black Athlete Sister Circle (BASC), a holistic development program for Black women student-athletes in higher education institutions.

She received the 2020 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaching Association (IWLCA) President’s Cup Award, 2020 VCU School of Education Outstanding Mentor Award, and the 2022 VCU School of Education Outstanding Team Award. Dr. Ferguson's scholarship and community-engaged work have been included in the Journal of College Student Development, College Student Affairs Journal, Journal of Research on Leadership Education, Diverse Issues in Higher Education, and Sociology of Sport Journal. She also served as a panelist for the Congressional Student-Athlete Caucus and is an active member of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE).

Dr. Ferguson is a first-generation college graduate from Appomattox, Virginia. She has professional experience working in community engagement, workforce development, residence life, enrollment management, and college access. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia, where she was an All-American track and field student-athlete and school record holder, and her master’s and doctoral degrees from Indiana University – Bloomington in Higher Education.

 

Curriculum Vitae

(804) 828-1940