Rashunda L. Stitt Richardson

Position: Associate Professor Department: Psychological Sciences
Contact Info
Office: Coltrane Hall, Room 307 Phone: 336-750-8804 Email: stittrl@wssu.edu
Biography
An educational psychologist trained in qualitative and quantitative research methodologies with an interest in the achievement, identity, motivation, & success of women of color in STEM.
An advocate and resource for undergraduate students at Winston-Salem State University.
A career advisor for undergraduate psychology majors.
Educational Background
- The University of Memphis, Ph.D. Educational Psychology
- The University of West Florida, M.A. Applied Psychology
- Howard University, B.S. Psychology
Research and Project Interests
- Identity Development in Educational Contexts
- Women and People of Color in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
- Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology
- Academic Motivation
Nobles, R. R., & Richardson, R. L. (Co-PI). (2025-2027). WSSU Historically Black Colleges and Universities IPSE Planning (Awarded) [Grant]. North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities.
Richardson, R. L. (Principal Investigator). (2024-2027). Collaborative Research: Ideas Lab: The HBCU Ujima Collective: Building Research Capacity at HBCUs through a Grow Your Own Research Corps Model (Award No. 2430322) [Grant]. National Science Foundation.
Stitt, R. L. (Principal Investigator). (2020-2025). Broadening participation research center: Center for the development of identity and motivation of African American students in STEM (Award No. 2010846) [Grant]. National Science Foundation.
Richardson, R. L. (2026). Intersectionality: Understanding the Complexity of Identity. In L. Hendricks, D. Smith, D. Stewart, & F. Barner (Eds.), Persisting Challenges of Racism in Contemporary Society (pp. 25-42). IGI Global Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3373-0913-2.ch002
Stitt Richardson, R. L., Guy, B. S., & Perkins, K. S. (2019/2020). “I am committed to engineering”: The role of ego identity and parental support in Black women’s engineering career persistence. Journal of Negro Education, 88(3), 281-296. JSTOR
Stitt, R. L., & Happel-Parkins, A. (2019). “Sounds like something a White man should be doing”: The shared experiences of Black women engineering students. Journal of Negro Education, 88(1), 62-74. JSTOR
Stitt, R. L. (2016). African American women in STEM fields. In C. Hudley (ed). Adolescent identity and schooling: Diverse perspectives. (pp. 107-122). New York, NY: Routledge.
Stitt, R. L, & Winsor, D. L. (2014). A narrative inquiry: The experience of first-generation college students. In SAGE research methods cases. London, United Kingdom: SAGE Publications, Ltd. Sage
Stitt, R. L. (2014). Identity development. Identity development across the lifespan: Definitions, theories, and applications. In D. L. Winsor, V. S. Murrell, & S. Magun-Jackson (eds). Lifespan development: An educational psychology perspective. New York, NY: Pearson.
Walch, S.E., Sakkaphat, T. N., Francisco, J., Stitt, R. L., & Shingler, K. A. (2012). Psychometric evaluation of the attitudes toward transgender individuals’ scale. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 1283-1291. SpringerLink
- PSY 2310 - Psychology of the Exceptional Child
- PSY 2336 - Lifespan Development
- PSY 3308 - Cognitive Psychology
- PSY 3346 - Principles of Learning
- PSY 3402 - Advanced Research Methods & Statistics in Psychology
- PSY 4425 - Contemporary Issues in the Psychological Sciences
- PSY 4440 - Senior Seminar in Psychology
Departmental Service
Faculty Senate Representative
Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology, WSSU Chapter Advisor
Departmental Assessment