Toby S. Jenkins

Toby S. Jenkins is an Assistant Professor of Curriculum Studies at the University of South Carolina. Prior to USC, she served as a faculty member at Georgia Southern University, the University of Hawaii Manoa, and George Mason University. Her professional background includes ten years of experience as a student affairs administrator at Penn State University and the University of Maryland. Her first book, My Culture, My Color, My Self: Heritage, Community, & Resilience in the Lives of Young Adults was named to the American Association of Publisher’s List of the Top 100 Books for Understanding Race in America. Her research interests focus on how communities of color use culture as a politic of social survival, a tool of social change, and a medium for transformative education. She is also interested in the ways in which culture influences students’ perceptions of the purpose of education and their commitment to community based leadership.