Founder
Dr. Chiquita Howard-Bostic
Dr. Chiquita D. Howard-Bostic was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. She began serving the community at the age of fourteen as a Mayor Summer Youth Employee in the Ellicott District Council Office in City Hall. Within four years, she had volunteered at several community organizations as a grant writer and an advocate for marginalized youth and adults. By age 21, she was hired as the youngest executive director of human services in the City of Buffalo. In 2003, Howard-Bostic relocated to Virginia to extend her graduate-level education and pursue a career in academia. Howard-Bostic merged her goal to improve urban and rural communities and a mission to provide social justice initiatives. Since 2007, Howard-Bostic, her husband, and school-aged daughter have resided in Martinsburg, WV. In West Virginia, Dr. Howard-Bostic has been honored to encourage individuals to achieve lasting positive change.
Professional Spotlight
Education and Employment
Dr. Howard-Bostic received her Ph.D. in Sociology, teaching certificate in Women’s Studies, and a Race and Social Policy research certification at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She earned a master’s degree in urban planning and bachelor's degree in legal studies at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Howard-Bostic is the Associate Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity and department chair of Sociology, Criminology, and Criminal Justice at Shepherd University. She is an Integrative Wellness Academy (IWA) certified life coach and a licensed qualified administrator of Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). Howard-Bostic is a former college director of institutional assessment and has served as an executive director of housing and human services in Buffalo, New York.
Teaching
Dr. Howard-Bostic teaches online and face-to-face courses in the academic disciplines of sociology, criminal justice studies, psychology, and communications. She has taught over 15 different academic courses. Dr. Howard-Bostic teaches online and face-to-face courses in the academic disciplines of sociology, criminal justice studies, psychology, and communications. She has taught over 15 different academic courses. She promotes teaching methods that center learning. Howard-Bostic also inspires students to advance their professional skills and to obtain employment in the areas of criminal justice and social work.
Professional Presentations
Dr. Howard-Bostic’s research has advanced the study of online teaching pedagogy, cross-cultural motivations for aggression, and emotive-based treatment for perpetrators and victims of mutually performed domestic violence. Dr. Howard-Bostic has presented research at Harvard University, two international forums at Oxford University, and at other prestigious forums around the US and abroad. She has received grants to support international research on gender and domestic violence. She has also presented ground-breaking, motivational, empowering research.
Publications
Howard-Bostic has published several manuscripts including a book chapter titled, "Aggression and Violence in Teen Girls," in Black Girls and Adolescents: Facing Life Challenges. Another article, "Is Mutual Violent Combat (MVC) A Gender-Neutral Conceptualization of Intimate Partner Violence?" was published in Conference of the International Journal of Arts and Sciences. She also published "Women's Emotive Responses and Female-Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence" in the Journal of International Criminal Justice Research. The manuscript "A Hybrid Learner-Centered Pedagogy" was published in the Journal of the East Coast Colleges Social Science Association. In addition, Howard-Bostic co-published The Handbook of General Sociology.
Service
Dr. Howard-Bostic facilitates university service learning projects, community-based youth programs, and international learning initiatives. For over fifteen years, she has generated social change as a university administrator and a community developer. She has participated in international projects in Brazil, Cuba, Jamaica, and Vancouver. She has been a phenomenal mentor and Girl Scout troop leader. She also serves as a role model to her students. Students accompany Howard-Bostic with service learning projects.