Latrice Dunbar

Dr. Latrice Dunbar aims to help high school students realize their greatest ambitions related to college and career. As the director of access and pre-college programs at UNG, she helps underrepresented and underserved students prepare for, enroll and graduate from institutions of higher learning.

When she encounters Upward Bound students at Gilmer High School in Ellijay or Johnson High School in Gainesville, they may not have considered college or received the same encouragement as some of their peers. It requires building trust to convince them what they can accomplish.

"I try to be relatable," Dunbar said. "I show up as my authentic self so hopefully they can see some part of me in them."

This area of higher education comes naturally for her. She spent five years as director of Upward Bound Math & Science at Atlanta Metropolitan College before a year as interim director of College Access Programs at the University of San Francisco. She joined UNG in November 2017 to lead Upward Bound.

For Dunbar, the most rewarding moments happen when students realize their vast potential.

"We help students who might not know they can go to college or how to go to college even if they want to," she said.

She also appreciates the trial-and-error method of learning and how it can benefit these students.

"You need to give people the room to make mistakes and turn it around," Dunbar said. "Give them the opportunity."

Dunbar earned her Doctor of Education in educational leadership and her Master of Arts in sociology from Clark Atlanta University, and she received her bachelor's degree in public relations from Georgia Southern University. One of her favorite professional development opportunities at UNG came when she attended the Women in Leadership conference at Harvard University in February 2020.

As she seeks to open doors of opportunity in higher education for students, Dunbar said she values the teamwork involved in UNG's commitment to helping first-generation college students and Pell-Grant-eligible students.

"You cannot lead if you don't have the ability to listen and hear the perspectives of multiple people," Dunbar said. "The final decision may be with you, but no leader is successful working in isolation. There are blinders we all have inherently, so hearing different perspectives to guide your leadership is an important element."