INFORMATION FOR
Every month during the academic year, we will spotlight a different member of the WP faculty or staff who plays a powerful role in student success.
Name: Dr. H. Mark Ellis
Title: Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice; Director, WP’s chapter of the American Democracy Project
Years at WP: 28
Tell us about yourself: I love to read and enjoy culinary arts. I started out majoring in piano performance at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and studied at Manhattan School of Music and the Peabody Institute of Music. I earned a BA in sociology from Montclair State University, a MA and PhD in sociology from Northwestern University, and a Certificate of Program Completion from Harvard University in the Higher Education Management Development Program. I was an anti-intimate partner violence educator and crisis worker, and a volunteer in a neonatal intensive care unit for babies born to mothers addicted to crack cocaine. I currently serve on the Board of the New Jersey Supreme Court on Judicial Education and am a faculty member in the New Jersey Judicial College. I also serve as Dean of Academic Affairs for the W.E.B. Du Bois Scholars Institute at Princeton University.
Describe your role on campus: I am a professor of sociology and criminal justice, an academic advisor, and the current Director of the University’s chapter of the American Democracy Project (ADP), where I am tasked to work with campus groups to provide non-partisan voter education, register our community members to vote—especially our students—and to help all cast a ballot and have their vote count. On November 5, 2024, America faces a historic choice in its elections. For information on important voter registration deadlines, how to’s, candidate profiles and positions, issues on the ballot, and more, see our Voting 101: Elections and Resources.
I have worn many hats while at WP and some other roles I assumed include: Director of the Pioneer Success Seminar Program for sixteen years, Director of Criminal Justice, Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate, Graduate Director in Sociology, Interim Associate Dean, Assistant Department Chair, and more recently, co-chair of the Mission Statement Working Group.
A defining moment at WP: For many students—brown, black, white, and other—I am their first black male college professor, and they are subsequently curious about my background. Though their questions tied to my race and PhD initially offended me, I recognized the cognitive dissonance many were experiencing, so in response, I share my journey. I am a stutterer. I was afraid to speak in classes while growing up. Someone took a chance on me and here I stand today, an African-American male college professor. I was mentored by lots of white males and females and I, too, had few African-American role models. I encourage students to stay open to the message-sender because mentors come in all forms. Mentors guide and support. Mentors advocate. Mentors have your back. Mentors want to see you succeed and have options and choices. We can all learn from people from various backgrounds, and this will enrich our lives greatly.
Favorite part about your job: I enjoy when students are alive in the classroom and engage in class discussions. Some take risks and some need more encouragement and will write down their answers. That’s fantastic! It is awesome to see students grow to realize that their voices and ideas matter. I am only one voice in the classroom. The student voice is as important and so are the texts and films. All of these voices deliberate and come to collective understanding where no one voice is more important than the other.
Fun fact: At a young age, I had the opportunity to play a piano solo at Carnegie Hall. I also made a wedding cake as a gift for my friends Christine and Trevor.
Finish this sentence: "WP is a powerhouse of support."
When I look around, I see students coming from great families who go to the ends of the earth to provide the necessary resources for them to reach their best potential. I see sacrifice and determination. I see stick-to-itiveness and networks of support helping our students to remove roadblocks to plan for timely graduation and lifelong success. I see a campus where the one thing we all share in common is our passion to make our students shine. It’s our mission to turn on the light within our students for them to see and embrace their own greatness and sense of belonging in this world. We want this for them so badly.
09/24/24
