Brilliant Lady sets record at US university, becomes the first African-American woman to earn PhD in Economics

What makes her achievement deeply scholarly is the residual knowledge woven into her research. Her dissertation focuses on stereotypes, discrimination, and how people perceive biases, especially in male-dominated job roles.

Inspired by real-world debates around equality and workplace fairness, Alston began asking big questions: Can we accurately measure discrimination? How do people interpret bias when navigating the job market?

Her answers came through experimental economics, a field she describes with contagious excitement:

“What I find particularly exciting is creating experiments from scratch to answer important questions.”

She described it as not just an academic study but research that touches real people, workplaces, and societal systems.

Her milestone carries even more weight considering the numbers: Only 15% of economics professorships are held by women, and just 6% by people of color. She had never been taught by a Black economics professor—and now she becomes the example she never saw.

“If I can inspire even one student of color or one woman to pursue economics, then it will all be worth it,” she said.

After setting a historic record at Texas A&M, Alston is now joining Florida State University as an Assistant Professor, where she will continue researching economic behavior and social inequality.

She credits her smooth transition into graduate life to the supportive and diverse community she found at Texas A&M.

“We were there to earn our degrees and conduct research, but we also supported one another. That sense of community made all the difference,” she admitted.