Detris Adelabu
Clinical Professor
Dr. Detris Honora Adelabu is a clinical professor in the Counseling Psychology & Applied Human Development Department at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. In her research, Dr. Adelabu examines factors that support school achievement for rural and urban African American adolescents.
Dr. Adelabu teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on research, transformational leadership, and African American school achievement. She routinely contributes her expertise to nonprofit social justice organizations supporting educational access and community engagement. She is a student-centered, mission-driven educator with a firm commitment to support and enhance the academic development and life opportunities for all students. As a first-generation college graduate, Dr. Adelabu is a powerful advocate for college access and success for first-generation and underrepresented students of color.
Dr. Adelabu served as the dean of arts and sciences and co-dean for academic affairs at Wheelock College, where she led efforts to improve faculty development and student success. As founding director of the Emerging Scholars Program, Dr. Adelabu collaborated with higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations to provide transformative academic opportunities to create a pathway to graduate school and career success for students. At BU Wheelock, Dr. Adelabu continues to be a voice for educational access and success.
Pronouns: she/her
Recent News
In the Media
Education
Postdoc, Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Teachers College Columbia University
EdD, Human Development and Psychology, Harvard Graduate School of Education
EdM, Human Development and Psychology, Harvard Graduate School of Education
MS, Community Agency/Mental Health Counseling, Purdue University
BS, Psychology, Southern University-Baton Rouge
Courses
HD 265 Social Science Research for Community Impact
HD 300 Educational Psychology
HD 331 African American School Achievement
RS 655 Mixed Methods Research
Selected Publications
Bernard-Jacobs, T. & Adelabu, D. H. (2026). Parents as leaders in their children’s anti-racist education: The 6 Building Blocks of Antiracist Parenting. Journal of Progressive Human Services.
Adelabu, D. H., Crawford, F., & Banks Santilli, L. (2025, February). It’s time for higher education leadership to embrace ‘good trouble.’ Diverse Education.
Adelabu, D. H., Crawford, F., Banks Santilli, L. (2025, April). DEI is not a word. The Conversation.
Adelabu, D. H., Whitmore, J., DeLeon, A. (2024). Whiteness and colonization in higher education: Barriers to institutional and societal change in Crawford, F., Coleman, F., Wiehe, E. (Eds.) Contemporary Issues in Equity, Democracy, and Public Education: Multidisciplinary Perspectives from Education, Social Sciences, and Health. Routledge
Robinson, T. & Adelabu, D. H. (2024). The impacts of anti-Black racism in psychology. Psychology Today.
Selected Presentations
Whitmore, J., & Adelabu, D. H. (2025, November). Assessing a research mentoring intervention to reduce inequality in academic outcomes for underrepresented Students of Color and low-income first-generation students. Association for the Study of Higher Education. Denver, CO.
Adelabu, D. H., Banks Santilli, L., Wells, C., Sims, K., Amankwah, R., & Hernandez, L. (2025, November). Building on parents'/caregivers' knowledge of child development to foster rural students' success. Annual Conference of the Northeastern Education Research Association on Promoting Social Responsibility in Educational Research. Trumbull, CT.
Adelabu, D. H., Whitmore, J., Sims, K., Kelly, K., Sibley, J., Belcher, D., Cruz, J., Rodriguez, J., & Henderson, K. (2025, November). Early measures of success of the Sankofa Scholars Undergraduate Research Program to increase college success. Annual Conference of the Northeastern Education Research Association on Promoting Social Responsibility in Educational Research. Trumbull, CT.
Adelabu, D. H., Whitmore, J., DeLeon, A., Banks Santilli, L., Crawford, F. (November, 2024).
Whiteness and colonization in higher education: Advancing institutional and societal change. International Conference on Urban Education. Cancun, Mexico
Adelabu, D. H., Deleon, A., Arcot, R., Aradhya, P., Sims, K. (2024, October). Educational research for equity: A workshop on anti-bias, anti-oppressive educational research practices. Annual Conference of the Northeastern Education Research Association on Promoting Social Responsibility in Educational Research. Trumbull, CT.
Adelabu, D. H., Whitmore, J., Banks-Santilli, L., Crawford, F., DeLeon, A., Sims, K. (2024, October). Decolonizing higher education: Pivoting toward the greater good. Annual Conference of the Northeastern Education Research Association on Promoting Social Responsibility in Educational Research. Trumbull, CT.