Common Ground Consortium
Common Ground Consortium Program Description
The Common Ground Consortium (CGC) is the brainchild of the phenomenal Black woman, local civil rights activist, and education leader Dr. Josie Johnson, a graduate of Fisk University. It offers the distinguished opportunity to advance the study of Black life, intellectualism, and possibilities in a communal setting among like-minded scholars and community members. It’s a home away from home. This unique setting provides space to cultivate Black intellectual thought and praxis within and beyond the academy, and offers critical financial, navigational, and social support to facilitate the ongoing success of CGC scholars.
2026-2027 CGC Scholars & Becoming a CGC Scholar
Current CGC scholars come from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, and their intellectual pursuits reside in and expand various fields within the College of Education and Human Development. CGC scholars advance scholarship across disciplines and areas of study, including Human Resource Development, Comparative and International Education, School Psychology, Child Development, Social Work, Curriculum and Instruction, STEM education, and Educational Psychology. Our scholars push boundaries and transform their fields through cutting-edge research grounded in the advancement of Black intellectualism.
CGC scholars bring a rich tapestry of regional, historical, and cultural perspectives. They embody the lived, epistemological, intellectual, and practical diversity prized and celebrated by both the College of Education and Human Development and the broader University.
“My personal encounters with burnout, challenging power dynamics, and professional and academic adversity fuel my determination to dismantle the systemic barriers that heighten these struggles for Black women”.
“I survived the reconstruction of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. That led me to an interest in research and practice at the intersection of community organizing, organization development, community development, and education in Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities.”
“Growing up as an African American in Minnesota, I have witnessed and experienced firsthand many of the systemic inequities, institutional barriers, and racial disparities that shape the lives of Black children, families, and communities. These experiences developed within me a strong commitment to creating social change and a desire to better understand how systems and institutions can be transformed to promote greater social and racial justice.”
Collectively, current CGC scholars connect their lived experiences and rich cultural histories with their scholarly pursuits.
Youth activism and identity development
CGC scholars are committed to understanding the access and opportunity gaps within educational and social systems that disproportionately exclude Black and other historically marginalized youth and students. Moreover, scholars use pedagogical, organizational, community-based, and policy interventions informed by the history of Black intellectualism and social and youth movements.
Leadership, workforce training and workplace dynamics
CGC scholars examine organizational hierarchies and power structures that disproportionately impact Black and other historically marginalized communities in schools, workplaces, and other organizations. Scholars center liberatory, community- and human-centered approaches to redress organizational inequities, including structural racism and other forms of exclusion.
Access in STEM education
CGC scholars examine the access barriers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education and explore the implications of culturally responsive pedagogical interventions.
Child welfare
CGC scholars investigate the societal, policy, and institutional influences on Black and other historically marginalized children. Their scholarship seeks to co-design interventions and supports that foster strong and positive identity development.
CGC scholars examine organizational hierarchies and power structures that disproportionately impact Black and other historically marginalized communities in schools, workplaces, and other organizations. Scholars center liberatory, community- and human-centered approaches to redress organizational inequities, including structural racism and other forms of exclusion.
Access in STEM Education
CGC scholars examine the access barriers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education and explore the implications of culturally responsive pedagogical interventions.
Child Welfare
CGC scholars investigate the societal, policy, and institutional influences on Black and other historically marginalized children. Their scholarship seeks to co-design interventions and supports that foster strong and positive identity development.
CGC scholars are engaged in diverse methodological traditions and approaches.
Black Women and Girls: Research centers the ontological and epistemological perspectives and self-defining praxis of Black women and girls in educational and professional organizations.
Black Professionals and Leaders: Research prioritizes the advancement of Black educators, scholars, professionals, and leaders through collaborative networks, support initiatives, and pathway programs.
Participatory Methods: Research highlights community- and youth-based action research methods, role-playing, and game-based learning modalities, and community-engaged learning methods.
Scholars praise the funding and community aspects of the CGC programming and opportunities to engage with like-minded scholars across programs.
“A program like the Common Ground Consortium is important because it gives representation to the underrepresented. Many Black students across the United States go through their graduate education in isolation or struggling to find community.”
“The Common Ground Consortium serves a vital role by revitalizing Black scholars and cultivating a dedicated space where their scholarship can flourish. It provides a comforting and secure environment amid unfamiliar academic settings that often overshadow or displace the Black experience. By bringing together like-minded individuals, the consortium honors and advances the legacy of our ancestors, who paved the way for our educational pursuits. Ultimately, this program is essential for safeguarding the academic, social, and psychological well-being of emerging Black intellectuals.”
“It (CGC) provides tangible skills for conference development, professional workshops, being in community with Black scholars, having access to Black faculty and staff, and learning to develop a positive self-affect about Black intellectualism.”
Taken together, these scholars share that the CGC community offers an invaluable experience for students in the College of Education and Human Development.
There is a holistic process for accepting students as CGC scholars. Departments within the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) can nominate up to two students; note that we anticipate that a total of four new students across the college will be admitted to the program each year. Primary admissions criteria include:
- Academic and lived experience of the student.
- Research interests that align with the advancement of Black intellectualism
- U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents
- Students must be accepted into a doctoral program within CEHD.
- Preference is given to graduates of an HBCU.
- Full-time professionals or employees of the University are not eligible for the program.
Visit your CEHD program page for more information about CGC application requirements. CGC offers are made in March, after Department/program admission decisions are made.
- Guaranteed Research Assistant or Teaching Assistant funding for graduate study (8 semesters for PhD students). These positions are for 20 hours per week and include full-time tuition benefits and fully subsidized individual health insurance, in addition to an hourly wage.
- Funding will be guaranteed for four years (eight semesters) for doctoral students, provided they remain in good standing.
- Funding to present at national and international academic and professional conferences.
- Faculty mentorship
- Community gatherings for academic and professional development.
- Alumni and community networking opportunities for academic and professional growth
For more information about the CGC, contact Dr. Darrius A. Stanley, CGC Faculty Lead, at dstanley@umn.edu
History of the Common Ground Consortium
The Common Ground Consortium (CGC) was established in 1989 at the University of Minnesota’s College of Education. The college received a grant from the Bush Foundation to form a consortium with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to recruit African American graduates annually for advanced study. Dr. Josie R. Johnson, a fearless community organizer, leader, activist, and University leader in the Twin Cities, was a founding foremother of the Common Ground Consortium (CGC). With guidance from Dr. Johnson, then-dean William Gardner, and Professor Jean King, they established the CGC.
The primary purpose of CGC was to facilitate the recruitment of Black graduate education students and to support them throughout their advanced academic journey. That support included financial assistance and community support during their graduate studies, including regular check-ins and professional development.
CGC alumni have successfully pursued careers as professors, consultants, superintendents, researchers, teachers, and have done much to advance Black intellectualism. Throughout the decades of its existence, the CGC network has helped retain students until they graduate, foster scholarly excellence, and support the local community.