Ohio State is in the process of revising websites and program materials to accurately reflect compliance with the law. While this work occurs, language referencing protected class status or other activities prohibited by Ohio Senate Bill 1 may still appear in some places. However, all programs and activities will be administered in compliance with the law as of June 27, 2025.

Rhodesia McMillian

Headshot of Rhodesia McMillian

Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Studies

Program Area: Educational Policy

mcmillian.27@osu.edu

Biography

Rhodesia McMillian, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Education Policy. Dr. McMillian earned her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri–Columbia and brings distinguished experience in elementary and secondary education, including roles as an autism specialist and a nationally certified school psychologist. Dr. McMillian is a recipient of the Spencer Foundation Equity Grant and is a former Education Law Association (ELA) Early Career Scholar in Education Law. Currently, she serves as a Policy Research Fellow for the Teachers College, Columbia University Black Education Research Center, and holds a faculty fellowship at Ohio State University’s College of Education and Human Ecology QualLab.

Education

  • Ph.D., K-12 Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis, University of Missouri-Columbia 
  • Ed.S., School Psychology, Georgia Southern University
  • M.Ed., School Psychology, Georgia Southern University
  • B.S., Speech-Language Pathology, Armstrong Atlantic State University

Research Interests

Research Summary

As an interdisciplinary scholar, her research investigates how federal, state, and local education policies influence school governance and K–12 public education. Her research, grounded in critical theoretical frameworks and qualitative methodologies, analyzes the intersections of law, policy, and discourse in shaping educational access and opportunity. Dr. McMillian’s scholarly focus encompasses two domains: the influence of policy and legal structures on K–12 governance, and the effects of education reform policies on African American students and students with disabilities.

Selected Publications

Books:

Journal Articles:

  • Arnold, N.W. & McMillian, R. (2024). The plantation of instructional supervision. Journal of Educational Supervision, 7(2), (14–32).https://doi.org/10.31045/jes.7.2.2
  • McMillian, R., Dillion, L. (2024). Systemic nuances of racism: How multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) policy implementation can harm African American students. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership (p. 1–15).https://doi.org/10.1177/15554589241278317
  • McMillian, R. (2024). Discursive violence analysis: Epistemological advances in qualitative research. International Review of Qualitative Research, https://doi.org/10.1177/19408447241256050
  • McMillian, R. (2022). Using critical discourse analysis to operationalize discursive violence in school closure education reform policy. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2022.2112783

Book Chapters:

  • Tachine, A. R., & McMillian, R. (2024). African and Indigenous Qualitative Journeying. Advancing Qualitative Inquiry Toward Methodological Inclusion. In Advancing Qualitative Inquiry Toward Methodological Inclusion, (pp. 73-74). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003462224-9
  • McMillian, R. (2024). Discursive violence analysis: Journeying toward epistemological advances in qualitative research. In Advancing Qualitative Inquiry Toward Methodological Inclusion, (pp. 75-90). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003462224-9
  • Arnold, N. & McMillian, R. (2024). Race-ing instructional supervision: Plantation traditions and instructional supervision. In Culturally Responsive Instructional Supervision: Leadership for Equitable and Emancipatory Outcomes, (pp. 52-78). TC Press. 
  • McMillian, R. (2021). So you want to make a special education referral: How to foster equity and understanding special education policy. In J.S. Brooks & A. Heffernan (Eds.), The School Leadership Survival Guide: What to Do When Things Go Wrong, How to Learn from Mistakes, and Why You Should Prepare for the Worst, (pp. 299–314). United States: Information Age Publishing, Incorporated.

Selected Presentations

  • McMillian, R. (2018). Operationalizing violence: Examining discourse in a Washington, D. C. school closure court case.  Paper to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Research Association (AERA).  New York, New York, April 2018.
  • McMillian, R., Pinto, R.  (2017). Educating a nation: An intersectional examination of education policy in Ghana.  Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the University Council of Education Administration (UCEA).  Denver, CO, November 2017.
  • McMillian, R. (March, 2017).  TEDx Adopting dignity: Equity in public education [Video file].  Retrieved from https://youtu.be/6KcjLwolXmE