OU professor serves as executive producer for new documentary, publishes research on social justice education

Dr. Chaunda L. Scott, a professor in Oakland University’s Department of Organizational Leadership, continues to make a national impact through her work in both film and scholarship focused on diversity, equity and social justice.

Dr. Scott recently served as executive producer for Spotlight on Minnesota’s Triumphant African American Community, a critical cultural documentary created for the Minnesota Black Community Project (MBCP), a prominent African American-centered nonprofit organization. The film highlights stories of African American excellence and achievement across Minnesota, offering a powerful counternarrative that centers success, resilience and community impact.

The documentary was selected to premiere at the prestigious Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival in August 2026, a distinguished platform known for elevating culturally significant films and filmmakers from across the country.

“It is important to highlight what African American success looks like in Minnesota given that most often African Americans in the United States are portrayed negatively in the news media,” Dr. Scott said. “I am proud to be a board member of Minnesota’s Black Community Project because our mission is centered on bringing to the forefront publicly the distinguished accomplishments and contributions of Minnesota’s intergenerational African Americans past and present.”

Through her role as executive producer, Dr. Scott helped guide the vision and storytelling of the project, ensuring that the film authentically reflects the lived experiences, accomplishments and contributions of Minnesota’s African American community.

A trailer for the documentary is available at Vimeo.com.

In addition to her work in film, Dr. Scott recently co-authored a peer-reviewed article titled “The Diverse Voices Framework: Re-Imagining HRD Education for Social Justice Beyond the Classroom,” published in the December 2025 issue of Advances in Developing Human Resources.

The article introduces Dr. Scott’s Diverse Voices Framework, a three-part conceptual development model designed to transform how human resource development (HRD) education approaches diversity and social justice. The framework intentionally engages multiple stakeholder perspectives — including student voices, faculty voices, administrator voices, professional voices and community voices — while also incorporating diverse forms of expression such as music, dance, spoken word and other creative modalities.

Rather than limiting diversity education to traditional classroom discussions, the model promotes a participatory and experiential approach that extends beyond the classroom and into community spaces.

“Whether through film or through the Diverse Voices Framework, my work is centered on ensuring that historically marginalized voices are not only included, but elevated,” Dr. Scott said. “When students, educators and community members see their lived experiences reflected and valued, it transforms how they engage with learning and with one another.”

The publication contributes to ongoing national conversations about inclusive pedagogy and the role of higher education in advancing equity and social justice. The article is available to read online through Advances in Developing Human Resources.

About Dr. Chaunda L. Scott

Dr. Chaunda L. Scott is a professor of Human Resource Development and graduate coordinator of the Human Diversity Inclusion and Social Justice Graduate Certificate Program in the Department of Organizational Leadership, housed in the School of Education and Human Services at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. She is a recognized workforce diversity and diversity education expert whose scholarly research and teaching focus on human resource development, workforce diversity policies and practices, adult diversity education, eradicating societal racism, antiracism education and social justice practices.

Dr. Scott has published several diversity and workforce diversity-focused co-edited and single- authored books, articles and book chapters. She is a 2020 recipient of the Academy of Human Resource Development’s prestigious R. Wayne Pace Book of the Year Award. Her research has been presented in global locales including Limerick, Ireland; Oxford, England; Beijing, China; Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Cape Town, South Africa; and Washington, D.C., among others. She has also been recognized as one of the Top 25 Education Professors in Michigan by Online Schools Michigan.

Most notably, Dr. Scott was granted a prestigious Fulbright Specialist Award, which took her to Cape Town, South Africa, where she engaged in diversity education research and teaching. She also received the Educator of the Year Award from the Niagara Foundation – Michigan Chapter for her exemplary workforce diversity and diversity education work.

In addition to her academic and scholarly contributions, Dr. Scott is deeply engaged in community work. She serves as the executive director for Minnesota’s Black Community Project, a nonprofit organization located in Minneapolis, Minnesota — her hometown — that publicly highlights the contributions and accomplishments of successful African Americans in Minnesota, past and present, through educational programs, books, documentaries, podcasts, articles and interviews.