Lawanda Cummings
Lawanda Cummings, PhD
Director, Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Education Excellence | Georgia State University
An accomplished educator, psychologist, advocate, scholar, and leader with more than two decades of professional experience, Lawanda Cummings, PhD, currently serves as the director of the Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence at Georgia State University. In this capacity, she’s focused on literacy for preschool students, runs several initiatives each year, and wields expertise in statistics and education intervention, STEM programs, and research methodology. Through the Alonzo A. Crim Center, she has been active as a grant writer and project director for the DREAMS mentoring initiative and was awarded a grant to boost support for math and science teachers in the Atlanta Public School system.
Dr. Cummings excelled for years at the University of the Virgin Islands, starting as a visiting assistant professor of social science in 2016 and advancing to a part-time member of the research facility, the director of Education Research and Workforce Development for its Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, and the director of the Eastern Caribbean Center until 2024. She also excelled for four years as an assistant professor of psychology and chair of the Social Sciences Department at Paine College—where she was awarded an NSF grant surrounding African-American women’s inclusion in STEM career fields—and as an adjunct professor at Georgia Gwinnett College.
In addition to her primary endeavors, Dr. Cummings has been a praise and worship leader at her local church for many years and has volunteered through the Royal Priesthood Ministries, Family Tabernacle of Praise, and the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands. She also belongs to numerous organizations, including the Southeastern Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, American Educational Research Association, and the American Evaluation Association.
Attributing her success to having a strong community of support and mentors, Dr. Cummings prepared for her professional journey with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Georgia State University, where she also spent six years as a graduate research assistant. In the midst of her career, she attained a master’s degree in community organizational psychology and then a PhD in community organizational psychology from her alma mater. Recently, she bolstered her credentials with certifications in social and behavioral research from the CITI Program and in mental health from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.
Looking toward the future, Dr. Cummings strives to publish a book within the next five to 10 years focusing on interventions, development, and education—particularly tailored for urban populations and children of color. In addition, she aims to establish connections between various environments, such as rural areas like Augusta, Caribbean regions, and Atlanta’s urban schools. She also envisions creating a formal infrastructure to facilitate the exchange of information and innovation across these spaces and foster intellectual advancement, and engaging in policy work to advocate for protecting children in learning environments to ensure equal educational opportunities for all.
Press Release
Lawanda Cummings, PhD, Honored for Contributions in Education Intervention
Lawanda Cummings, PhD, is the Director of the Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Education Excellence at Georgia State University
DECATUR, GA, September 13, 2024 —
Lawanda Cummings, PhD, has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Dr. Cummings, an esteemed expert in statistics and educational interventions, currently serves as the director of the Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence at Georgia State University. In this role, she focuses on literacy for preschool students, manages an alternative workforce development program that trains individuals for media-related work and runs several different programs each year. Her dedication to improving educational outcomes is evident through her comprehensive approach to urban education.
Prior to her current position, Dr. Cummings was the director of the Eastern Caribbean Center at the University of the Virgin Islands from 2022 to 2024. During her tenure, she played a pivotal role in securing a $2 million contract from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to implement a street address system for the entire Virgin Islands, enabling residents to have mailboxes at their homes. Before this role, she served as the director of education research and workforce development for the Virgin Islands Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research from 2019 to 2022, where she was instrumental in securing a $20 million grant dedicated to marine construction research.
Dr. Cummings’ career also includes roles as a part-time research facility member at the University of the Virgin Islands from 2017 to 2019 and as owner and principal evaluator of COM-Metrics LLC during the same period. She was also a visiting assistant professor of social science at the University of the Virgin Islands from 2016 to 2017 and an assistant professor at Paine College from 2012 to 2016. Earlier in her career, she was an adjunct faculty member at Georgia Gwinnett College from 2011 to 2012 and a graduate research assistant at Georgia State University from 2002 to 2008.
Serving as a foundation for her success, Dr. Cummings’ academic journey began with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Georgia State University in 2000, followed by a Master of Arts in community organizational psychology in 2007 and a doctorate in community organizational psychology in 2010, both from Georgia State University. She also holds various certifications, including first aid from Health USA, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, social and behavioral research from the CITI Program and project management basics.
Throughout her career, Dr. Cummings’ is most proud of securing a grant from the National Science Foundation focusing on understanding pathways for African American women in STEM fields. This accomplishment led to several publications and earned her an Outstanding Paper Award at a conference. Additionally, she was awarded an $880,000 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to concentrate on HIV/HPV prevention for young adults in Augusta.
Dr. Cummings is an active member of several industry-related organizations, including the Southeastern Psychological Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Educational Research Association and the American Evaluation Association. She attributes much of her professional success to having a community of support and mentors.
In her personal life, Dr. Cummings enjoys painting, mentoring, volunteering at her church and engaging in training future researchers. She is also involved in civic organizations, volunteering with the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, Family Tabernacle of Praise, Royal Priesthood Ministries and the UVI Foundation.
Looking ahead, Dr. Cummings aims to publish a book focusing on interventions, development and education tailored for urban populations and children of color. Additionally, she seeks to create connections between various environments, broaden her knowledge of educational excellence within the diaspora through travel and engage in policy work advocating for equal educational opportunities for all children.