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Tosen N

- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at Emory University

Expertise

Racial and ethnic relations, Culture, Business, Organizational science, social science

Bio

I studied finance and economics at the University of Pittsburgh. Once I graduated, I worked at a management consulting firm and subsequently at a tech company. But that was many moons ago! Currently, I'm a PhD candidate pursuing research at the intersection of race/ethnicity, culture, and authenticity. In my current program of work, I take an interdisciplinary (i.e., psychology, history, anthropology, etc.) approach to investigating cultural self-expression, both in the workplace and society at large. A bit more generally, I’m a first generation Nigerian-American, and [in hindsight] my experiences of “double consciousness” probably have a lot to do with why I gravitate to research questions related to race, ethnicity, and culture. Outside of research, I’m an avid traveler (20+ countries), a breakfast enthusiast, a novice baker, and a BIG fan of salsa dancing. More recently, I’ve taken greater interest in the arts, specifically [non-academic] writing and theatrical performance.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Race/ethnicity and school prestige

Racial segregation continues to be a pressing issue in US society, exacerbating racial inequality. Indeed, organizations that are more prestigious generally have a lower representation of underrepresented ethnic minorities (i.e., Black, Hispanic, or Native American members). This begs the question if the ethnic makeup of the school influences the perceptions of the school's prestige and reputability. If so, racial inequality could be sustained simply due to perceivers ascribing more status to schools that have a greater proportion of students from higher status ethnic groups.

Teaching experience

I served as a TA for 3 years in undergrad and 1 full year as a PhD student. I've also mentored students pretty consistently over the last 10 years.

Credentials

Work experience

Accenture (2014 - 2016)
Strategy Analyst
Ellucian (2016 - 2017)
Financial Analyst

Education

University of Pittsburgh
BBA Bachelor of Business Administration (2014)
Finance and economics
Emory University
PhD Doctor of Philosophy candidate
Organizational Behavior

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