PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Christine Hill is preparing to graduate as part of only the third cohort of Prairie View A&M University’s Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program.
The Arlington native is expected to earn her doctorate from PVAMU’s College of Business with a perfect 4.0 GPA, becoming the newest addition to her family’s Panther legacy. As one of the program’s earliest graduates, Hill is also helping write the history of one of the University’s newest doctoral programs.
“It’s exciting to be earning my doctorate during the sesquicentennial year as a member of only the third cohort of this program and be a part of the history of the DBA program at PV and of the college as a whole,” Hill said.
As a PVAMU legacy, when she told her family that she had chosen Prairie View for her doctorate, her aunt and cousin were ecstatic – they are all fellow Panthers.
“I come from a close-knit family and can remember seeing the joy and excitement in my aunt and cousin when I told them I would be attending PVAMU,” Hill said. “My aunt has been waiting for three years for us to attend homecoming as alumni together, and this fall we will be able to do so.”
The success of her family members and friends who attended PVAMU reinforced that she had made the right decision.
Hill credited her dissertation chair, Dr. Robert Zinko, along with the rest of her committee—including Dean Anika Simmons—and her classmates for guiding and encouraging her throughout the program.
Her dissertation explores how hair bias influences perceptions of professionalism and the hiring of Black women, a deeply personal topic that faculty encouraged her to examine in her own voice.
“My dissertation topic is very personal to me, and I was encouraged to use my personal tone and voice when writing,” she said. “The recurring statement from my dissertation chair was, ‘This is your research.’”
This fall, Hill will begin teaching human resources as an adjunct at Tarrant County College, where she also works full-time as an HR professional.
Long-term, her goal is to pivot to academia while continuing to research and improve discrimination in hiring and promotion practices, by supporting real people’s stories with real data.
“My research will make an impact in my goal of change by putting published quantitative and qualitative data behind the many stories that have already been told by marginalized individuals,” she said. “To help open the eyes of others to the truth behind their lived experiences, to biases people may hold, and to provide accountability for adverse actions that have resulted from the biases that are explicit in nature.”
Click here to view a complete listing of this semester’s notable graduates.
By Christine Won
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