ZINA T. McGEE, Ph.D.

Dr. Zina T. McGee was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1986, she received the Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of

New Orleans. In 1988, she received the Master of Arts degree, also from the University of New Orleans. Her Master's thesis involved the analysis of secondary data and examined patterns of delinquent drug use among adolescents using the Monitoring the Future Survey. In 1988, she entered the graduate program at Tulane University, where she was employed as a grant research assistant and managing editor of Social Science Research. As a grant research assistant, Dr. McGee was responsible for data collection and analysis of surveys obtained

from a sample of high school youth in four states. The project served as the focus of her Ph.D. dissertation, "Criminal Victimization Among Inner City High School Students."

Dr. McGee received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Tulane University in 1993. Her dissertation was later published as a report to the National Institute of Justice. Two additional publications addressed the findings of the project.

In the fall of 1993, Dr. McGee accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Sociology at Hampton University. Courses taught at Hampton University have included Criminology, Juvenile Delinquency, Sociology of Mental Health, Social Policy, Social Statistics, and Research Methods.

In 1994, she was awarded a two-year grant to examine patterns of victimization among 200 inner city high school students in Virginia. Findings of the report were submitted to the Hampton University Faculty Research Committee in May of 1996.

Dr. McGee was selected as a Faculty Preceptor for the Career Opportunities for Research program (COR) in 1996. This three-year project, directed by Dr. Reginald L. Jones, and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, is designed to train undergraduate honors students for graduate careers in mental health. A research methods course in mental health is taught to incoming COR scholars each summer. COR scholars are also given the opportunity to assist faculty on research projects and present materials at professional conferences. Dr. McGee is currently working with two COR scholars to publish findings based on research projects.

In the summer of 1997, Dr. McGee was awarded a grant (Urban Stress and African American Youth) from the National Institute of Mental Health to examine patterns of victimization, personality dimensions, and coping strategies among African American adolescents in Virginia. This project is part of the Hampton University Faculty Development Program designed to encourage behavioral science research among faculty at minority institutions. Dr. McGee is serving as Principal Investigator of her project which is part of the Behavioral Sciences Research Center directed by Dr. James B. Victor.

In 1996, Dr. McGee was selected as an Honorary Member of the Golden Key National Honor Society, and she is currently serving as advisor for the Hampton University Chapter. In 1999, she was selected for the Edward L. Hamm Teaching Award, and has recently been selected as Outstanding Young Woman of America from the Outstanding Young American Association. In 2000 she received a career development fellowship from the National Consortium on Violence Research

Dr. McGee currently serves on six University committees and is actively involved in community service projects including Girls, Inc., Upward Bound, and Educational Talent Search. She has five research publications examining violence among youth, and has been active in presenting her research findings at professional conferences.

For further information e-mail: Dr. Zina T. McGee