Dr. Candace N. Hall, class of 2006, is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) and director of the Higher Education Student Affairs program. Her research interests include recruiting, retaining, and supporting Black faculty at historically white institutions. Hall aims to show the possibility of Black joy in the academy, hoping that more people will invest in spaces where Black faculty can authentically experience joy, hope, and community. Her recent project, Cluster Luck, an award-winning documentary short, highlights the experiences of a group of Black faculty within a department at a historically white institution. This short film unpacks what community means and what it looks like for Black scholars to have supportive communities within their departments at their institutions.
Hall is the Vice President of Faculty for the Black Faculty and Staff Association (BFSA) and inaugural faculty fellow for the IRIS Center of Digital Humanities. Hall was awarded the Defender of Equity award by the Accessible Campus Community and Equitable Student Support (ACCESS) Office at SIUE in Fall 2021. In 2022, Hall was named Outstanding Young Alumni by the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Hall earned her doctorate in education (EdD) in Higher Education Leadership at Maryville University, a master's of arts (MA) in Communication Arts in the School of Education at Webster University, and a bachelor's of arts (BA) in English from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She attended Cardinal Ritter College Prep for all four years and graduated in 2006.