Dr. Patricia Reid-Merritt
Distinguish Professor, Richard Stockton College
Dr. Patricia Reid-Merritt – author, educator, scholar and performing artist – is the Distinguished Professor of Social Work and Africana Studies 
(Program Coordinator) at the Richard Stockton College in Pomona, New Jersey. She is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Afro-One Dance, Drama and Drum Theatre, Inc., a community-based cultural and performing arts organization currently celebrating its 39th year of operation.
Dr. Reid-Merritt received the Doctorate of Social Work in Race, Law and Social Policy from the University of Pennsylvania; the Master of Social Work in Direct Practice from Temple University; and, the Bachelor of Arts in psychology and social science from Cabrini College. She received her arts training in the City of Philadelphia, having studied at the Sydney King School of Dance, The Eakins Arts Center and Cabrini College.
Dr. Reid-Merritt is the author of the national Blackboard best-seller, Sister Power: How Phenomenal Black Women Are Rising to the Top (John Wiley & Sons, 1996), and Sister Wisdom: Seven Pathways to a Satisfying Life for Soulful Black Women (John Wiley & Sons, 2002). In addition, she has recently completed the much eagerly awaited book, Righteous Self-Determination: The Black Social Work Movement in America (Black Classic Press, 2010). Dr. Reid-Merritt is a regular contributor to scholarly journals and magazines and has made more than 200 appearances on TV and radio stations throughout the country.
A resident of Hamilton Township, New Jersey, Dr. Reid-Merritt is a well-known scholar and lecturer. She has presented scholarly papers and keynote addresses at numerous conferences throughout the United States and in the international communities of Kenya, Brazil, Egypt, France, South Africa, England and Venezuela. In the summer of 1993, she spent four weeks at the University of Ghana as a Ford Fellow with the National Council for Black Studies. A community-oriented, activist scholar, she has also served as the statewide coordinator of the New Jersey Black Family Summit, sponsored by the Black United Fund. She was the founding President of the Association of Black Women in Higher Education, Philadelphia Chapter, having served previously on the National Board of Directors. Dr. Reid-Merritt served as the founding President of the Burlington County Black Business and Professional Association, and as founding president of the National Association of Black Social Workers, South Jersey Chapter. For 16 years (1994 – 2010), she served on the Board of Directors for the National Council for Black Studies.
Dr. Reid-Merritt is the recipient of numerous honors and awards including the Cabrini College Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, the Temple University General Alumni Society Certificate of Honor, NAACP Freedom Award, the Richard Stockton College’s Council of Black Faculty and Staff Annual Achievement Award, and the National Council for Black Studies Presidential Award (2002). She has been honored by the New Jersey State Council of Black Social Workers as Social Worker of the Year, the New Jersey State Legislature, and in 1997, was named by City News as one of New Jerseys’ 100 Most Influential Citizens. She is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who Among Black Americans, Outstanding Young Women of America, and 2000 Notable American Women. She is married to William T. Merritt. They have four children.
