Darris Means, professor of educational leadership and the dean’s fellow for rural education at Clemson University in South Carolina, has been named president-elect designate of the National Rural Education Association (NREA). He will serve a five-year term, ascending to the roles of president-elect, president, immediate past-president, and past-president.
Founded in 1907, the NREA supports rural school administrators, teachers, board members, regional service agency personnel, researchers, business and industry representatives, and others interested in maintaining the vitality of rural school systems across the United States. The organization facilitates research on innovative rural practices, challenges unique to rural schools, and the strengths of rural people and places.
In his educational research, Dr. Means uses critical, participatory, and visual methodologies and methods to investigate opportunity gaps in education, particularly STEM education. His scholarship on postsecondary education focuses on access and opportunity for rural students, Black students, first-generation college students, and students from low-income backgrounds.
Dr. Means has been a faculty member with Clemson since fall 2024. Prior to his current role, he was an associate professor and executive director of rural and community-based education at the University of Pittsburgh. Earlier, he was an associate professor and coordinator of the Ph.D. program in college student affairs at the University of Georgia. He also has administrative experience, previously serving as associate director of Elon University’s Elon Academy, a college access and success program for first-generation and low-income students in North Carolina.
Dr. Means is a graduate of Elon University, where he double-majored in political science and sociology. He holds a master’s degree in counselor education with a concentration in student affairs from Clemson University and a Ph.D. in educational research and policy analysis with a concentration in higher education from North Carolina State University.
