Crystal Renee Chambers

Dr. Crystal Renée Chambers, J.D., Ph.D. chambersc@ecu.edu is an inaugural fellow of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE c/o 2025), the 2023 Barbara Townsend Distinguished Lecturer (ASHE’s Council for the Advancement of Higher Education Programs) and Professor of Educational Leadership at East Carolina University where she examines matters of race, gender, policy, practice, and law, particularly the areas of college choice and faculty advancement. Dr. Chambers is the author/ co-author of over 50 peer reviewed articles, book chapters, and monographs as well as the editor of eight book and journal volumes, including, most recently, Black Women’s Pathways to Executive Academic Leadership: Lessons from Lived Experiences (UWP Books, 2023). Dr. Chambers designed the North Carolina ACE Mentoring Network, recognized by the ACE Women’s Network as the program of the year 2026. She is a 2018 Carnegie Fellow and is a co-PI on THRIVE@ECU, an NSF ADVANCE Adaptation grant, and has served as a Coach and faculty expert with the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity. She a 2016 ECU Graduate Faculty Mentor and East Carolina University Women of Distinction Award recipient, and a fellow of the BRIDGES Leadership for Women (2020) and UNC System Executive Leadership Institute (2021-2022). Be on the lookout for her next volume, Colleague to Colleague: Just in Time Advice for Department Leaders (SUNY Press, 2027).