Jillian D. Royal, MPA
PhD Student of Sociology & Public Policy
Jillian is a Dean’s Scholar at Cornell University and pursuing her PhD in Sociology. Jointly funded through the Department of Sociology and the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, she is concentrating her research and scholarship on Race, Racism and Policy Analysis. Prior to coming to Cornell, Jillian was a K. Leroy Irvis Pre-Doctoral Fellow and earned her Master of Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. She also completed two certificates in Latin American Social and Public Policy and Gender and Women’s Studies. Jillian earned her Bachelor’s in Justice Studies with a concentration in International Justice and minored in Spanish, International Studies, and Child Advocacy and Policy at Montclair State University.
Research Interests
Jillian's research focuses on issues that are at the intersection of race and gender. She plans to research the impact of minority individuals in local and state political leadership positions. Utilizing mixed-methods research, Jillian intends to research the impact of the minority leadership on urban cities. Her research will analyze the policies and executive orders passed by mayors in the United States major cities to understand what types of policies are passed and whether the policies in cities with mayors from underrepresented backgrounds differ from cities with mayors from historically represented backgrounds in politics.
Another topic that her research targets is natural hair discrimination in United States society. Individuals with kinky, curly, and coily hair textures have a history of being discriminated against in workplace and school settings. This can impact these individuals in a marinade of ways including socially and financially. Some government entities have passed laws against such discrimination at the local and state levels, however, protections have not been created at the federal level because the acts of discrimination are either upheld through judgments and rulings. Jillian wants to understand the political mechanisms that uphold natural hair discrimination, as well as, the political mechanisms which enabled local and state governments to pass preventative legislation.
Fellowships & Grants
Brooks School Racial Equity Research Grant (2023)
Dean’s Excellence Fellowship, Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement, Cornell University (2022)
K. Leroy Irvis Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh (2019)