Dr. Darris R. Means is a Professor of Educational Leadership and Dean’s Fellow for Rural Education at Clemson University. Darris has been on faculty at University of Pittsburgh and University of Georgia. Prior to becoming a faculty member, Darris served on a program team to create and implement a year-round, college access and success program, Elon University’s Elon Academy, for high school and college students with a financial need and/or no family history of college. Darris served as the Assistant Director and then Associate Director for the Elon Academy, working with students and their families on pathways to and through postsecondary education. During his time with the program, the college persistence rate was 95%.

Darris researches how economic, educational, and social conditions shape pathways to and through postsecondary education for first-generation college students, rural students, Black students, and/or students from low-income backgrounds. Darris’ research and scholarship have been published in several journals, including Journal of College Student Development, The Review of Higher Education, Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, and Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. Darris earned his Ph.D. in Educational Research and Policy Analysis with a concentration in Higher Education from North Carolina State University, a M.Ed. in Counseling Education with a concentration in Student Affairs from Clemson University, and a B.A. in Sociology and Political Science from Elon University.