Spark is a publication that offers timely and scholarly-informed content for people to gain a general level of understanding on historical and current social issues so that they can make informed decisions that affect them, their families, and communities.

Spark is published by the National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan and is uniquely positioned at the intersection of academic journals and popular media. Throughout our production process we draw from peer-reviewed academic practices to promote well-informed multidisciplinary essays while also learning from popular media to offer public writing and timely content that will influence and inform public discourse, policy, and practice.

Editorial Board

  • Beatriz Manzor Mitrzyk — Assistant Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Michigan
  • Davis Clement — Assistant Professor of Education at Eastern Michigan University
  • Ezella McPherson — CEO at Dr. McPherson Coaching, LLC and Manager of College Access at the Detroit Regional Chamber
  • Marita Inglehart — University Diversity & Social Transformation Professor and Professor of Dentistry & Adjunct Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan
  • Michael R. Williams — Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at Frostburg State University 
  • Steven Paul Alvarez — Associate Professor of English at St. John's University
  • Sydney Richardson — Associate Professor of Leadership Studies at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University 
  • Taifha Alexander — CRT Forward Project Director at the University of California, Los Angeles
  • Tami Lincoln — Associate Professor of Liberal Studies at the University of Massachusetts Global
  • Victoria Kim — Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the University of Texas, San Antonio
  • Manoucheka Celeste — Associate Professor of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Illinois, Chicago
  • Rita Shah — Associate Professor of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology at the Eastern Michigan University
  • Seanna Leath — Assistant Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Washington University, St. Louis
  • B. Ethan Coston — Associate Professor of Gender, Sexuality, & Women's Studies at the Virginia Commonwealth University

Editorial Team

  • Elizabeth Cole — Senior Editor
  • Laura Sanchez-Parkinson — Managing Editor
  • Anchal Malh — Editorial Intern