Banks received her Ph.D. in Cultural Foundations of Education and a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Women’s Studies, from Syracuse University. She specializes in sociology of education, cultural studies, and qualitative research. Committed to educational reform and inclusion, Banks draws from educational theory, feminist theory, and critical race theory in her work and in her teaching, research, and writing. Her book Black Women Undergraduates, Cultural Capital and College Success (Peter Lang, 2009) expands the concept of cultural capital and provides practical ways colleges and universities can recognize and utilize the cultural capital of all students. She is the co-author of the edited text, Teaching, Learning and Intersecting Identities in Higher Education (Peter Lang, 2012). This book utilizes voices of scholars and students from a range of academic disciplines to analyze the ways divergent identities and experiences infiltrate the classroom. Her newest project entitled, “No Justice! No Peace! College Student Activism, Race Relations and Media Cultures” examines the implications of changing tides of student activism for college campuses. Banks has produced scores of articles, book chapters, and presentations and has won a wide array of honors, awards, and scholarships. A graduate of Monroe Community College she was inducted into Monroe’s Hall of Fame.