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Faculty
Faculty

Bahiyyah M. Muhammad, Ph.D. (She, Her, Hers)

Associate Professor

  • Sociology & Criminology
  • College of Arts & Sciences
  • Interdisciplinary Studies
  • Co-PI
    Social Justice Consortium
  • Honors Faculty Fellow
    COAS Honors Program
  • CETLA Fellow
    Center For Excellence In Teaching

Biography

Bahiyyah M. Muhammad received her B.S. in Administration of Justice from Rutgers University- New Brunswick Campus with a minor in Psychology and a Criminology Certificate. As an undergraduate, she became a Ronald E. McNair Scholar and a Minority Academic Career Program (MAC)- Undergraduate Research Fellow. She also spent a semester as a research intern at the University of Natal, located in Pietermaritzberg, South Africa where she interviewed natives on their attitudes toward the criminal justice system. Dr. Muhammad went on to receive her M.S. in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice- New York City. As a graduate, she presented research findings at numerous professional conferences such as those held by the Academy of Criminal Justice Science (ACJS), American Society of Criminology (ASC), Sisters of the Academy (SOA), and the American Correction Association (ACA). 

Dr. Muhammad received her Ph.D. from Rutgers University’s School of Criminal Justice, where she specialized in families and communities affected by mass incarceration. Her particular area of expertise rests in the lived experiences of children of incarcerated parents. Dr. Muhammad has spent the last decade of her criminal justice career conducting ethnographic work about children ages 7 – 18, living in urban communities throughout New Jersey, who have experienced the loss of one or both of their parents to the prison system. She is currently founding a non-profit organization to address the dynamic concerns faced by children of the incarcerated. 

Dr. Muhammad has taught numerous undergraduate courses at the Rutgers University, West Chester University, and The New School in New York City. She has also taught classes in numerous prisons, including at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women (EMCF) in Clinton, NJ, and Northern State Prison, Newark, NJ. Dr. Muhammad also served as director of the College Bound Consortium, a prisoner education program facilitated at EMCF through a partnership between Drew University and Raritan Valley Community College.

Education & Expertise

Education

Administration of Justice/ Criminology Certificate

B.S.
Rutgers University (New Brunswick)
2002

Family Law/ Psychology

Study Abroad- Non Degree
University of Natal, Pietermaritzberg (South Africa)
2001

Corrections Administration

M.A.
John Jay College of Criminal Justice (New York)
2004

Criminal Justice

Ph.D.
Rutgers University (Newark)
2011

Postdoctoral Fellow

Work, Poverty and Criminal Justice
The New School of Liberal Arts (New York)
2013

Accomplishments

Accomplishments

Fellowship & Scholarships

Inaugural CETLA Fellow, Howard University Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Assessment, 2024  

Inaugural Honors Faculty Fellow, Howard University College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program, 2023-2024

Lumen Circles Fellow, Online Teaching Foundation, CETLA, 2021

D.C. Department of Corrections (DCDOC), Research and Policy Fellow, 2019

United States Department of State, Franklin Fellow-Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Office, 2017-2018

HU ADVANCE-IT Follow-the-Leader Fellowship Project: Publish Never Perish, 2016

HU ADVANCE-IT Writing Retreat Fellow, 2015

Advanced Summer Faculty Research Fellowship, 2015

HU Teach 2 Teaching with Technology Fellowship, 2015

Summer Faculty Research Fellowship, 2014

Research

Trailblazer Civic Award- Outstanding Social Justice Research, Women Ambassadors Foundation, 2023

Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, Research Fellow, 2020-2023

Mandela Washington Reciprocal Exchange Fellow, International Research & Exchange Board (IREX), 2020-2021

Assessment Fellow, Howard University Institutional Research and Assessment, Office of the Provost, 2019

Trailblazer Award for Groundbreaking Achievement in Research and Scholarship, Black Muslim Psychology Conference, Muslim Wellness Foundation (Philadelphia, PA), 2018

Summer Fellow, Junior Faculty Writing and Creative Works Retreat, 2018

Summer Fellow, Howard University Interdisciplinary Research Retreat, 2016

Most Outstanding Presentation by Junior Faculty Researcher, Howard University, Research Day, 2014

Excellent Paper Presentation, Howard University, Leslie H. Hicks Research Symposium, 2014

Teaching

Outstanding Teacher Award (Associate Professor), College of Arts and Sciences, Howard University, 2021-2022

Professor of the Year, Howard University, Excellence Awards, Bison Ball, 2019

Summer Teaching Fellow, HU Teach VI, CETLA 2018

Female Faculty Member of the Year, Nomination, HBCU Digest, 2018

Global Teacher Prize, Nomination, 2017

U.S. Marines Campus Hero-Fox 5 News, 2017

Professor of the Year, Howard University, Excellence Awards, 2017

Teaching with Technology Conference Presenter Certificate, CETLA, 2016

Teaching with Technology Award, Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Assessment, 2016

Professor of the Year, Howard University, Excellence Awards, 2015

Professor of the Year, Howard University, Excellence Awards, 2014

Service

Partner Impact Award, The DC Department of Corrections, 2024

Robert L. Perry Mentoring Award, Association for Ethnic Studies, 2023

Appreciation Award, The Metropolitan Police Department, Cadet Corp Branch, HSCC, 2023

Featured Honoree, Voices for A Second Chance-50th Anniversary Gala (Washington, DC), 2019

George Strawn Volunteer Award, District of Columbia-Department of Corrections (DCDOC), 2018

“Liberating the Free” Visionary Award, Not Without My Hijab National Committee, 2018

Community Role Model Award, MOM Network (Arlington, VA), 2018

Community Service Award, SMILE Inc., 2016

Volunteer of the Year, Bureau of Prisons- Alderson Federal Prison Camps, 2016

Human Rights Award, New Jersey Education Association, Advocacy Award, 2015

Certificates

Certificate of Appreciation, DC Correctional Detention Facility (DC Jail), 2024

Certificate of Completion, Women in Leadership, Harvard Division of Continuing Education, 2023

Certificate of Completion, Teens and Police Service (TAPS) Academy, 2023

Certificate of Appreciation, Metropolitan Police Department- The Cadet Corp Branch, 2023

Certificate of Appreciation, DC Department of Corrections, 2018

Certificate of Appreciation, DC Jail- Young Men Emerging Unit, 2018

Certificate of Recognition, Mayor Catherine E. Pugh-City of Baltimore for Baltimore City Youth and Girls Expecting More Success, Inc., 2017