Feature Story – Dr. Melissa W. Tyler – “Extra Mile” Award Recipient
For years, the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) 
Graduate School has supported the Southern Regional Education Board’s State Doctoral Scholars Program. Since the early stages of the partnership, Dr. Melissa W. Tyler, Assistant Dean of Operations for the Graduate School, has displayed her commitment to students and the university through her exceptional work with this program.
Dr. Tyler was honored with the 2023 “Extra Mile" accolade for her efforts at the 30th annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring Program in Tampa, Florida. The Institute is the nation’s largest annual gathering of underrepresented doctoral students and college faculty members of color. The awards ceremony, which took place in person from October 26-28, 2023, was titled “Looking Back, Moving Forward.”
“SREB is an inclusive, supportive environment and exemplary in retaining and graduating innovative Ph.D. students equipped to compete nationally within their professions,” Dr. Tyler explained. “I am honored to receive this award and look forward to continuing the great work we are doing in the years to come.”
SREB created the State Doctoral Scholars Program in 1993 to address the long-standing national shortage of underrepresented minority faculty by providing a comprehensive package of support to increase the number of minority scholars who earn a Ph.D. and seek careers as faculty members.
VCU became a partner institution of SREB in 1995. Since then, 78 VCU Ph.D. students have graduated from the Doctoral Scholars Program. In the fall of 2015, the Graduate School expanded this partnership by creating an SREB-Institutional Doctoral Scholars Program to further support Ph.D. students interested in the professorship. This award reflects the Graduate School's strong commitment to advancing diversity in graduate education.
For more information on the SREB State Doctoral Scholar Program, please visit https://www.sreb.org/doctoral-scholars-program.