About Marcelius

Marcelius (pronounced Mar-sell-us) is a diversity, equity, and inclusion administrator, former higher education student affairs professional, instructor, speaker, and consultant. His passion is diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and social justice. His goal is to educate, train, and empower people to pursue anti-racist goals. Marcelius in currently located in State College, PA, and he is a UNC Tar Heel fan surrounded by Penn State Nittany Lions.


WORK EXPERIENCE

Director of Center for Social Change and Belonging (State College, PA) - Current position

Leader of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Bexley City School District (Bexley, OH)

Assistant Dean of Students, Capital University School of Law (Columbus, OH)

Adjunct Professor, Capital University (Columbus, OH)

  • Introduction to Ethics (6 semesters)

  • Law, Philosophy, Race, and Education, Summer 2022

Student Affairs Freelance Writer, The Presence Blog (St. Petersburg, FL)

Director of African American Cultural Center, Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, TN)

Adjunct Professor, Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, TN)

  • APSU 1000, First Year Experience Course

  • Contemporary African American Life

  • Emerging Issues in Leadership: Foundations of Minority Leadership

  • Introduction to Public Policy (3 semesters)

Student Services Coordinator: Student Diversity, Outreach, and Women’s Programs, Missouri University of Science and Technology (Rolla, Missouri)


EDUCATION

M.A., Philosophy

University of Missouri

Interests: Political Philosophy, Philosophy and/of Law, Philosophy and Race

2013 - 2015

J.D., Law

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2009 – 2012

B.S., Economics, Political Science, Philosophy with a Certificate in African Studies

University of Pittsburgh

2005 - 2009


LEGAL/GRADUATE SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

Marcelius incorporates his legal and philosophy background into his diversity, equity, and inclusion work. His interests and volunteer work revolved around issues related to civil rights, civil liberties, voting rights, LGBTQia rights, women’s rights, and equity within the criminal justice system.

He combined his interest in law with philosophy in graduate school to study political philosophy, philosophy and/or law, and philosophy and race. Marcelius incorporates law and philosophy into his diversity, equity, and inclusion work to teach fairness, ethics, empathy, justice, repair, and liberation.


PUBLICATIONS


SELECTED PRESENTATIONS & PANELS

  • “Prioritizing Justice Over Charity: Understanding the Call for Service on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day and Beyond”, Capital University MLK Day of Learning, Virtual, January 17, 2022

  • “Diversifying the Educator Workforce”, Panel Participant, Ohio Dominican University Leadership with a Diverse Lens Conference, October 15, 2021

  • “Creating Anti-Racism Statements & Demanding Accountability from Ourselves & Others”, The Ohio State National Conference on Diversity, Race & Learning, Virtual, May 4, 2021.

  • “Why Systemic Discrimination and Inequity Require Us to Rethink the Role of Intent and Impact in our Policies and Laws”, North Carolina Bar Association Administrative Law Section Continuing Legal Education, Virtual, March 28, 2021.

  • “Anti-Racism: How to Intervene for Yourself and Others”, Ohio State University First Education Experience Program (FEEP), Virtual, February 10, 2021.

  • “Race, Ethnicity, and Inclusion”, Seedlings UK, Virtual, January 31, 2021.

  • “Becoming an Anti-Racist”, North Carolina Advocates for Justice, Social Security Disability 2020 Continuing Legal Education, Virtual, December 11, 2020.

  • “Anti-Blackness and Anti-Black Structures” Ohio State University Multicultural Counseling and Social Justice Class, Columbus, Ohio, October 12, 2020.

  •  “#BLACKOUT Virtual Master Class for Student Affairs Professionals – Candid Conversation Around Real Issues and Real Solutions to Real Challenges Facing Black Student Affairs Professionals”, Panel Participant, Virtual, July 2, 2020.

  • “The 3 ‘M’s: Micro-inequities, Microaggressions, and Micro-affirmations”, URepAbroad, Active Solutions: Steps to Promoting Systemic Change in the Workplace, Virtual, June 19, 2020.

  • “In Solidarity with Student Activists”, Presence, Happy Hour Webinar Series, Virtual, June 15, 2020.

  • “The 3 ‘M’s: Micro-inequities, Microaggressions, and Micro-affirmations”, Capital University Law School, Faculty/Staff Diversity Professional Development, Columbus, Ohio, February 7, 2020.

  • “Attending to the Evolving Needs of Law Students: Counseling Today’s Law Students”, The Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., January 4, 2020.

  • “The Language of Inclusion”, Capital University Law School, Faculty/Staff Diversity Professional Development, Columbus, Ohio, October 18, 2019.

  • “Anti-Black Structures and Anti-Racist Solutions”, Ohio State University Multicultural Counseling and Social Justice Class, Columbus, Ohio, October 14, 2019.

  • “The Language of Inclusion: Respectfully Using Gender Pronouns” (Co-creator and presenter), Austin Peay State University Human Resources Workshop, Clarksville, Tennessee, April 25/26, 2019.

  • “The Black Voting Experience During Reconstruction: What America Could Have Been, What America Decided It Wouldn’t Be, And What Persists Today”, Nashville State Community College Speaker Series, Clarksville, Tennessee, February 20, 2019.

  • “Why Student Affairs Professionals Should Reject Respectability Politics”, University of Memphis in May Student Affairs Conference, Memphis, Tennessee, May 18, 2018.

  • “Financial Literacy and Strategies to End the Gender Wage Gap”, Austin Peay State University Young Women’s Leadership Symposium, Clarksville, Tennessee, March 23, 2018.

  • “Inclusion & Diversity Interchange,” Panel Participant, Austin Peay State University Ziegler Leadership Forum, Clarksville, Tennessee, February 24, 2018.

  • “How Intersections of Identity Within the African American Cultural Center Broke Down Barriers”, Northern Kentucky University Regional Black Student Symposium, Highland Heights, Kentucky, October 27-28, 2017.

  • “Breaking Down the Cultural Center Stigma Through Intersections of Identity”, Tennessee Association for Student Success and Retention Annual Conference, Chattanooga, Tennessee, October 5-6, 2017.

  • “How to Keep Minority Students on the ‘Inside’:  Cultural Competence for Student Affair Professionals in the Aftermath of the Presidential Election”, University of Memphis in May Student Affairs Conference, Memphis, Tennessee, May 19, 2017.

  • “Strategies to End the Gender Wage Gap”, Austin Peay State University Young Women’s Leadership Symposium, Clarksville, Tennessee, April 21, 2017.

  • “How to Keep Students of Color on the ‘Inside’:  Cultural Competence for Student Affairs Professionals in the Aftermath of the Presidential Election”, East Tennessee State University Student Success Symposium, Johnson City, Tennessee, March 31, 2017.

  •  “All Men of Color Should be Feminists”, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Black and Latino Male Summit, Champaign, Illinois, February 25, 2017.

  • “Creating Allies in Social Justice Movements Through Intersection”, University of North Texas Equity and Diversity Conference, Denton, Texas, February 23, 2017.

  • “Using Empathy to Create Allies and Become More Inclusive”, Austin Peay State University Wisdom Walk, Clarksville, Tennessee, February 8th, 2017.

  • "Racial Empathy Over Sympathy:  A Transition from Equality to Equity", University of Tennessee-Knoxville Black Issues Conference, Knoxville, Tennessee, February 4, 2017.