Dr. Raquel Ellis has joined ACU Online as the Associate Director of Doctoral Research, helping to push the university closer to its goal of becoming a Research One (R1) institution. With a strong background in social work and psychology-based research, Dr. Ellis is passionate about supporting graduate students and faculty as they develop into skilled researchers, both in qualitative and quantitative studies. She’s dedicated to being a well-rounded scholar, teacher, and advocate, guiding students toward ethical and impactful research. Excited to collaborate with doctoral and master’s students on their projects and grants, Dr. Ellis is focused on helping them sharpen their technical skills and produce high-quality, data-driven work.
From Coast To Coast
Born in sunny Southern California, Dr. Ellis was raised to embody cheerfulness and warmth. Even as a young girl, she always felt an overwhelming calling to protect and bring peace to kids and families in her community who needed a person to talk to or a place to stay. Harnessing her passion to help others and her personal spiritual vocation to be a beacon of hope and light, Dr. Ellis decided to focus all of her efforts on service and understanding toward earning her degree in psychology. When Dr. Ellis first attended Pepperdine University, she recalled hearing about the psychological effects on children and families who were caught in the welfare system. And in many ways, though she couldn’t understand why, she felt drawn to the issue. Within a few weeks, she went on the hunt to see what degree was required to help families in need. And there it was: social work. When she graduated from Pepperdine University in 1999, Dr. Ellis walked the stage holding her head up high, and eyes set on the years of training still before her.
“Once I saw that social work was the degree I needed to get out into the field, I knew I wanted to start right away,” Dr. Ellis said. “At the time, I felt like I saw so many kids who needed someone to step in and help them out of a home-life situation that was causing more harm than good. Naturally, social work sounded like the best path to get some real change to occur.”
Fast forward to 2001, Dr. Ellis graduated from California State University at Long Beach with her Master’s in Social Work. Needless to say, she was ready to start making real change happen. Working as a children’s social worker and dependency investigator for the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, Dr. Ellis remembers the heartaches witnessed during her first few years; children being taken from homes, parents separating and homelessness within the adolescent community. This was the real deal. In fact, the realities of the profession made her even more curious and determined to study the issues of the welfare systems. In her eyes, getting to the bottom of her questions could only start with research.
Packing her bags and heading for windier cities, Dr. Ellis moved to the University of Illinois at Chicago to pursue her Ph.D. in Social Work. The transition and move was different, to say the least, Dr. Ellis pushed forward and earned her stripes as an advanced social scientist and researcher, including receiving the Abraham Lincoln Minority Fellowship. Like any doctoral student, she learned tactics and methodologies to further test and examine the issues and outcomes of the welfare systems of the country. Throughout the span of her graduate studies, she began producing, developing and advancing her field in more ways than one.
“I had the fantastic opportunity to work with a few professors that allowed me to assist them in their research,” Dr. Ellis said. “Not only did I get to work on issues and topics that I care about but I also was given the chance to learn about other facets of the system and how those interact with each other. It made me a more rigorous scholar. My program really formed me into who I wanted to become.”
Graduating with a stellar resume, Dr. Ellis moved further east to the Washington, D.C. regions to work at various research firms focused on analyzing children’s trends, elevating welfare agencies and testing various intervention methods to help families stuck in the system. Moving to the fast-paced world of Washington, D.C. while simultaneously building her publication output, she remembers the day she was called to leave and pursue a different route: academia.
“I was on a mission trip with my church, and I remember the Lord speaking to me,” Dr. Ellis said. “I wasn’t looking to make a change or anything but I distinctly remember hearing God tell me that He was going to move me. I didn’t know where or why. But, I felt it inside of me, that I needed to obey. And so, I did.”
Back Into The School Routine
Dr. Ellis believes the change from strict research to academia was the right next step in her journey. In her eyes, it was commanded to her by the Lord. Aiming to meet that calling, her academic career soared considering her vast experience in the field of social work and her published research. From working as a Founding Director of Field Education to settling in as an Associate Professor of Practice at various universities across the country, Dr. Ellis kept rolling into bigger and better opportunities. Still though, she hadn’t quite felt fulfilled. She wanted a role where she could utilize all of the skills she’d acquired over the years. From technical or soft skills like mentoring and leading, Dr. Ellis decided that the only place to look for direction was God.
“I just told [God] ‘I want a job that I feel fulfilled and eager to help students,’” Dr. Ellis said. “I began listing what I liked about my job, what I wish I could do and I just put it into His hands. Then, I came across this job announcement for this role at ACU. It felt as if God wrote it specifically for me.”
After going through the interviews, Dr. Ellis landed the job as the Associate Director of Doctoral Research. Understanding the vision ACU has to bring forth more research endeavors and opportunities to students, Dr. Ellis is working diligently to meet those goals and raise graduate students to the next level. After all, she knows a thing or two about research productivity, training, testing and most importantly, leadership. From helping students acquire and access the data needed to conduct statistical tests or guiding students through institutional review board processes to conduct interviews and focus groups, she is already shining on campus as a scholar who is deeply committed to cultivating new scholars and social scientists.
“My goal is to collaborate and work with students and faculty to build up our current research abilities as well as increase the output within ACU Online,” Dr. Ellis said. “Whether that’s helping faculty apply for grants or assisting a student on a data output program, the purpose is to create a strong and well-maintained structure for research production considering the university’s overarching goals, and the massive capabilities our students and faculty members have.”
Stepping into each day with a positive attitude and goal-oriented mindset, Dr. Ellis drive is part of what will make ACU Online the powerhouse research institution it strives to be. If you’re interested in pursuing your research in one of our graduate degree programs, visit our website today to learn more.