SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program Graduate #524 – Daniel Jean, Ed.D. 

Daniel Jean, Ed.D., was raised in abject poverty and rose from a 1.9 grade point average to become an author, consultant, motivational speaker, swagger trainer, playwright, and poet. He has been featured in several publications, including the Los Angeles Times, nj.com, Black Enterprise, Ebony Magazine, the Hechinger Report and Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. He is the CEO of Wordstravel LLC, a consulting edutainment and empowerment agency providing services in undergraduate and grad scholar recruitment/retention/graduation, antiracist and equity initiatives, strategic planning, value/identity development, professional growth planning, outcome formation and performance enhancement.

Borrowing from the blueprint of the Institute on Teaching and Mentoring, an annual four-day conference hosted by SREB, he founded PhinisheD/FinishEdD #WhoGotNext, a resource community for over 23,000 doctors and future doctors, and has presented over 700 seminars/keynotes for several higher education professional associations including NASPA, ACPA, CSRDE, N-CORE, APLU, and NACADA. ”I have been an active scholar/presenter with the SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program since 2010. My scholarship aims to identify barriers facing minority and immigrant college scholars and provide evidence-based strategies to support these scholars.”

As a result of networking and presenting at the Institute, he has been invited to share his expertise at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, University of Louisiana-Lafayette, Baruch College, The Fashion Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, University of South Florida, Western Kentucky University, Rutgers University, Meharry Medical College, Clemson University, and several non-profits and national corporations.

As Associate Provost for Educational Opportunity and Success at Montclair State University, his retention initiatives have resulted in a 91.9% first-year retention rate and a 61% increase in the four-year graduation rate of a so-called “special admit” population. ”My recent feature in the Diverse: Issues in Higher Education February 2024 article, Building Pipelines for a Better Future, highlights our effort to improve outcomes for black and Latinx males.”

He has taught undergrad and grad courses in consulting, student development, transformative leadership and hip-hop culture. He is the chair and founder of three statewide college access/awareness conferences, and the Richard Wilson/Jason James Mentorship Program. His most recent play “Til Death Do Us Part?” ran Off-Off-Broadway in NYC to sold-out shows.

He is the author of three indie books including his latest publication, “I Am…I Will…” an action-based interactive framework designed for the reader to proclaim their identity, declare their desired outcomes in the present and develop time-referenced action plans for the future.

Through the SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program, I built an extensive scholar-practitioner network and collaborated on critical research identifying strategies to close equity gaps. The program’s community and opportunities have accelerated my scholarship productivity and ability to enact data-driven reforms at my institution and nationwide.

Dr. Jean serves on the board of the Three Doctors Foundation and has received several accolades for his work including citations from the New Jersey Legislature and the New York State Legislature, Educator of the Year Awards from Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated and Uprising Stars LLC, the ACPA Educational Excellence Erica Holloman Award, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award from the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and the African American Chamber of Commerce of NJ. He has a goal to directly assist 100,000 future graduates and deliver 1,000 seminars/keynotes before he retires.

“The foundation for all of my work can be found in the ecosystem of the SREB network and I am forever grateful.”