Meet Our Staff: Dr. Jamel Hodges
Dr. Jamel Hodges is a North Augusta, SC native. He attended and graduated from North Augusta High School and attended USC Aiken for his undergrad.
In his time attending USC Aiken (2006-2011), He was initiated into the Sigma Tau Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc in 2007 and earned his undergraduate in Middle-Level Education with a concentration in Math and Science.
From there, he attended Augusta University (2012-2018) earning a Master’s degree in Public Administration and a Doctoral degree in Educational Innovation.
Currently involved in a large number of organizations, there’s a little bit of everything.
Strategic Planning Committee
Chair of the Black Alumni Council
Leadership of Aiken County (professionals that look at agencies in the area to learn about the structure of Aiken County)
Director of Educational Activities for the Omicron Tau Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.
The “Grind and Grace Experience” is a nonprofit organization led by his sister that helps people learn business strategies with a spiritual focus
“…in this profession, there aren’t a lot of people who look like me, especially a lot of men who look like me in those spaces. I want to make sure that for…every student who I come in contact with are mentored in some way.” -Dr Hodges upon discovering that he’s a mentor for Black students on campus
“...some students go their entire K-12 career without having a black educator and there’s an even smaller number that’ll see a black male educator. For me, it’s about paving the way for individuals who come after me… [with the representation] students can see themselves in staff members and administrators and the perspectives of populations be represented in conversations and decision-making spaces.” -Dr. Hodges on the importance of Black representation on a PWI campus
When asked about his most notable accomplishment at USC Aiken the answer was being able to give good advice to students to help them prosper.
When asked about his most notable accomplishment in his career, he responded with his experience from 2016-17 at Augusta University. He completed the solo project of completely transferring old software to new-age software. This was a process that he began and finished while broadening his expertise and understanding of how these systems worked. The result was a properly functioning system and getting to see an increase in communication response rate.
Photo provided by USCA directory.
