Professional Biography
Dr. LILLIAN B. POATS is a Professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Foundations and
Dean of the College of Education at Texas Southern University. Dr. Poats earned a
Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education from Purdue University. She also holds a
Masters Degree in Counseling and the Doctorate in Higher Education Administration
from Texas Southern University. Poats previously served as Associate Dean of the Graduate
School and Director of Certification in the College of Education at Texas Southern
University.
As a faculty member in the Department of Educational Administration and Foundations
at Texas Southern University she teaches courses in higher education, social and cultural
foundations of education and advises graduate students. She served as Chairperson
of the Rank, Tenure and Promotions Committee for the College of Education. Prior to
coming to Texas Southern University, Dr. Poats served as Director of Student Support
at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. Other positions in higher education
include serving as Coordinator of Academic Advising at Purdue University Calumet Campus
and serving as a Faculty Fellow in the U.S. Department of Defense-Pentagon Headquarters.
Poats previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Association
for Higher Education (AAHE) and is a former chair of the American Association for
Higher Education Black Caucus. She also served as Vice President for Administration
of the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education (AABHE). In the community,
she has served as a member of the Fort Bend County Child Welfare Board, Fort Bend
Independent School District Diversity Advisory Board, and the Fort Bend Education
Foundation Board where served as President.
Poats has numerous professional presentations and publications. Her publications include
“Achieving Cultural Diversity: Meeting the Challenge” in Diversity, Disunity and Campus Community; Challenges for Women of Color in Historically Black Colleges and Universities” in
Women As School Executives: Voices and Visions; “Working Collaboratively: Strategies for Success” in Student Retention-Success Models In Higher Education; “Cultural and Ethnic Diversity in Texas Schools: Implications for Leadership Effectiveness” in Texas Public School Organization
and Administration; “Building a Village: The Impact of Connections on the Academic Success of Black Males”
in HBCUs Models of Success: Supporting Achievement and Retention of Black Males; and
“From Plessy v. Ferguson to Brown v. Board of Education and Back” in Journal of the Center for Research on African American Women. She has recently been actively involved in work focusing on the use of Critical Friends
Groups (CFG) in higher education.
