People
CMAS Faculty Affiliates
Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez
Dr. Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez is the Director of the Center for Mexican American Studies
Professor, School of Journalism and Media
Education: Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Interests: Oral History as Journalism; Memoir-writing; Historical Inclusion
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Patricia Abril-Gonzalez
Assistant Professor, Curriculum and Instruction
Education: Ph.D., University of Colorado at Boulder
Interests: Arts-based research (visual arts, zines, collage); Testimonio; and creating protective/healing spaces for Latinx students/teachers; socially just bilingual teacher education
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Ricardo Ainslie
Professor, Educational Psychology
Education: Ph.D., University of Michigan
Interests: The intersection of psychology and culture through such topics as the psychological experience of immigration, ethnic conflicts and the impact of violence within communities, and the relationship between individual and collective identity; US-Mexico health, including addressing health disparities.
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Frederick Luis Aldama
Professor, Department of English
Education: Ph.D., Stanford University
Interests: Latinx & BIPOC Representation: Comic Books, TV, Film; YA Lit; Popular Culture; Social Media; Storytelling Science
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C.J. Alvarez
Associate Professor, Department of Mexican American and Latino/a Studies
Education: Ph.D., University of Chicago
Interests: Environmental History; Deserts; History of the U.S.-Mexico border
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Miguel Alvarez
Assistant Professor, Department of Radio-Television-Film
Education: M.F.A., The University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Production, Screenwriting, Digital Media, Narrative Filmmaking, Documentary Filmmaking, Directing, Editing/Post-Production
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Jacqueline Avila
Associate Professor, Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music
Education: Ph.D., Univeristy of California at Riverside
Interests: Mexican Music, Film Music, Latinx Musical Cultures
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Michael Ávila
Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of Theatre and Dance
Education: M.A., University of Houston
Interests: K-12 theatre education, culturally responsive pedagogy, Latino theatre for and with youth, UIL One-Act Play directing, high school musical theatre
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Mary Beltrán
Professor, Department of Radio-Television-Film
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Latinx Film and TV Representation and Production; Mixed Race and Media Culture; U.S. Television History
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Oscar Cásares
Associate Professor, Department of English
Education: M.F.A., University of Iowa
Interests: Fiction--Short Stories, Novels; Nonfiction--Personal Essay.
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Edward Castillo
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Education: Ph.D., Rice University
Interests: Medical Image Analysis; Machine Learning; Numerical Optimization
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Gregorio Cavazos
Assistant Professor, Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music
Education: Master of Music, Texas Tech University
Interests: Mariachi Music, Mariachi Education & Culture
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Iván Chaar López
Assistant Professor, Department of American Studies
Education: Ph.D., University of Michigan
Interests: History and Politics of Technology; Labor and Racial Capitalism; US-Mexico Borderlands
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Karma R. Chávez
Associate Professor, Department of Mexican American and Latino/a Studies
Education: Ph.D., Arizona State University
Interests: Social Movements, Queer of Color Critique, Abolition, Rhetoric, Coalitions
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Danielle Clealand
Associate Professor, Department of Mexican American and Latino/a Studies
Education: Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Interests: Afro-Latinos, Racial Politics, Black Identities and Solidarities, Caribbean Politics, Racial Inequality
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Cary Cordova
Associate Professor, Department of American Studies
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Latinx Studies; American Studies; Art / Visual Culture; Pop Culture; Performance; Cultural Production; Food Studies; Politics and Social Movements
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Maria Cotera
Associate Professor, Department of Mexican American and Latino/a Studies
Education: Ph.D., Stanford University
Interests: Chicana Feminisms, Social Movements, Latine/x Studies, Digital Humanities, Archival Studies
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James H. Cox
Professor, Office of the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies
Education: Ph.D., University of Nebraska at Lincoln
Interests: Native American Literature and Film; Ethnic US Literatures; Literature of Immigration; American Literature since 1920
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T. Jackie Cuevas
Associate Professor, Department of English
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Chicanx and Latinx Literature; Ethnic US Literatures; Women of Color Feminisms; Queer of Color Theory; Transgender Studies; Ecocriticism; Film and Media Studies; Poetry and Poetics
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Denise Davila
Associate Professor, Curriculum and Instruction
Education: Ph.D., The Ohio State University
Interests: Children's Literature, Early Literacy Development, Family & Community Literacies, Religion
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George F. Flaherty
Associate Professor, Department of Art and Art History
Education: Ph.D., University of California at Santa Barbara
Interests: Urban Humanities, Postcolonial/Subaltern Studies, and Afro-Latin American/Latinx Studies
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Richard R. Flores
Professor, Office of the President/College of Liberal Arts
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Folklore and Expressive Culture of Greater Mexico; Anthropology of Symbols; Anthropology of Religion; Anthropology and History; and Critical Theory.
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Stella Flores
Associate Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy
Education: Ed.D., Harvard University
Interests: Policy on College Access, Low-Income and Underrepresented Populations
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Tracey Flores
Assistant Professor, Curriculum and Instruction
Education: Ph.D., Arizona State University
Interests: Research focuses on Latina mothers and daughters language and literacy practices, the teaching of young writers in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms, and family and community literacies.
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Liliana Garces
Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy
Education: Ed.D., Harvard University
Interests: Intersection of Law and Educational Policy, Use of Research in Law, Race-conscious admissions, Free speech, Inclusion
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Patricia M. García
Lecturer, Department of English
Education: Ph.D., Texas A&M University
Interests: Renaissance Literature; Women, Gender, and Literature; Cultural Studies.
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Thomas Jesús Garza
Associate Professor, Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies
Education: Ed.D., Harvard University
Interests: Marginal Masculinities in Mexico and Russia; Critical Pedagogy in World Languages instruction
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Stephanie Grasso
Assistant Professor, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Bilingualism, Latino aging, dementia, aphasia, Latino caregivers
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Nico Gomez Marchant
Assistant Professor, Curriculum and Instruction
Education: Ph.D., University of Georgia
Interests: Elementary Latine Children's Experiences; Racialization; Numeracy within school policy
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Edgar Gómez Cruz
Professor, School of Information
Education: Ph.D., Internet Interdisciplinary Institute, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
Interests: Digital Culture, Ethnography, Visual Culture, Critical Algorithmic Studies
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Antonio Gonzalez
Clinical Associate Professor, College of Natural Sciences
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Natural Sciences: Biological sciences
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John Morán González
Professor, Department of English
Education: Ph.D., Stanford University
Interests: Chicanx/Latine Literary Studies
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María González-Howard
Associate Professor, Curriculum and Instruction
Education: Ph.D., Boston College
Interests: Translanguaging, Scientific Sensemaking, Teacher Education
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Gloria González-López
Professor, Department of Sociology
Education: Ph.D., University of Southern California
Interests: Gender, Sexuality, Engaged Research, Social Justice & Community Healing
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Rachel V. González-Martin
Associate Professor, Department of Mexican American and Latino/a Studies
Education: Ph.D., Indiana University
Interests: Folklore, Consumer Culture, Gender & Performance
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Kenneth Greene
Associate Professor
Education: Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley
Interests: Parties, Elections, Voting Behavior in Mexico
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Laura G. Gutiérrez
Associate Professor, Department of Mexican American and Latino/a Studies
Education: Ph.D., University of Wisconsin at Madison
Interests: Latinx and Mexican Peformance and Visual Art; Queer Studies; Feminisms
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Janice F. Hernandez
Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Nursing
Education: Doctor of Nursing Practice, The University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Acute Care Chronic Disease/Disability Curriculum & Instruction Family Nursing Practitioner Prevention/Wellness
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Mónica Jiménez
Assistant Professor, African and African Diaspora Studies
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Legal History, Race and Empire; Human Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean
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Octavio Kano-Galvan
Assistant Professor of Practice, Advertising and Public Relations
Education: M.F.A., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Interests: Creative; Art Director; Photography; 3D Video Production; Web/Mobile Interactive Media; Motion Graphics; 3D Modeling and Cinematography
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David L. Leal
Professor, Department of Government
Education: Ph.D., Harvard University
Interests: Latin America, Democracy, Racial and Ethnic Politics
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Raul L. Madrid
Professor, Department of Government
Education: Ph.D., Stanford University
Interests: Latin America, Democracy, Racial and Ethnic Politics
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Charles Martinez
Dean, College of Education
Education: Ph.D., California School of Professional Psychology
Interests: Focuses on identifying factors that hinder or promote the success of children and families from vulnerable and underserved populations
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Monica M. Martinez
Associate Professor, Department of History
Education: Ph.D., Yale University
Interests: US History, US-Mexico border, Texas, Latinxs in the United States, Civil and Human Rights, Race and Memory, Racial Violence, Public History
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Julie A. Minich
Associate Professor, Department of English & Department of Mexican American & Latina/o Studies
Education: Ph.D., Stanford University
Interests: Latinx Literary & Cultural Studies, Disability Studies, Health Humanities
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Robin Moore
Professor, Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Music of Mexico, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Latinx populations in the US. Music and Sustainability in Urban Contexts
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Yolanda C. Padilla
Professor, Steve Hicks School of Social Work
Education: Ph.D., University of Michigan
Interests: Causes and Consequences of Poverty, Latino Immigration, Culturally Relevant Social Service Provision
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Domino R. Perez
Associate Professor, Department of English
Education: Ph.D., University of Nebraska at Lincoln
Interests: Young Adult Fiction; Mexican American and Latinx Literature and Culture; American Literature; Popular Culture; Film; Cultural Studies
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Charles E. Ramirez Berg
Professor, Department of Radio-Television-Film
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Media Studies, Identity and Representation, Industry/History/Criticism
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Tony Rasmussen
Assistant Professor, Butler School of Music
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Arts Equity & Culturally Responsive Pedagogy; Applied Ethnomusicology; Border, Urban & Diasporic Studies; Latinx-focused Public Media in the U.S.; Mexican Popular Music & Media Studies; Music & Nationalism in Latin America; Music, Gender & Sexuality in Latin America; Rural-Urban Migration; Sound Studies & Decolonial Listening
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Pedro Reyes
Ashbel Smith Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy
Education: Ph.D., University of Wisconsin at Madison
Interests: Latino Student Success -Models, Progs, and Policy University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Annette M. Rodriguez
Assistant Professor, Department of History
Education: Ph.D., Brown University
Interests: Racial formation, Immigration, and the production of U.S. Citizenship via Performance, Popular Culture, and Visuality
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Néstor P. Rodríguez
Professor, Department of Sociology
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Migration/Immigration, Border Control
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Victor B. Sáenz
Professor; Associate Dean, Educational Leadership and Policy; College of Education
Education: Ph.D., University of California at Los Angeles
Interests: Underserved students in postsecondary education, with a special emphasis on Latinx students and young men of color
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Cinthia S. Salinas
Professor, Curriculum and Instruction
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Latine Social Studies Teacher Education
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Pedro Santacruz
Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Education: Ph.D., Rice University
Interests: Mobile and Wireless Networks, Distributed Algorithms, Communication Theory
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Roxanne Schroeder-Arce
Associate Professor, Department of Theatre and Dance
Education: M.F.A., The University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Culturally Responsive Arts Education, Latinx Theatre for Young Audiences
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Iliana Sosa
Assistant Professor, Department of Radio-Television-Film
Education: M.F.A., University of California at Los Angeles
Interests: Production, Documentary Filmmaking, Narrative Filmmaking, Directing, Festival Curating
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Luis Urrieta, Jr.
Professor, Curriculum and Instruction
Education: Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Interests: Critical Latinx Indigeneities, Critical Indigenous Studies, Migrations & Diasporas, Learning in Family & Community Contexts, Chicanx, Latinx Education, Identity, Agency, and Social Movements, Ethnography, Qualitative & Indigenous Research Methodologies, U.S., Mexico, Guatemala
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Angela Valenzuela
Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy
Education: Ph.D., Stanford University
Interests: Specializes in Urban Education from a sociological and multicultural perspective, with a focus on minority youth in schools, particularly at the K-12 level.
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Emilio Zamora
Professor, Department of History
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
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Emeritus Faculty Affiliates
Douglas Foley
Professor Emeritus, Curriculum and Instruction
Education: Ph.D., Stanford University
Interests: American Ethnic and Race Relations; Educational Policy for Ethnic Minorities; Ethnographic Research; Critical Theory
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María E. Fránquiz
Professor, Curriculum and Instruction
Education: Ph.D., University of California at Santa Barbara
Interests: Examines ethnographic language and literacy practices in K-12 classrooms, specifically focusing on how Latinx critical race theory explains the relationship between heritage language and culture and the evolving identities of future teachers.
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José E. Limón
Professor Emeritus, Department of English
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Mexican-American Literature and Culture, Folklore, American Literature after 1865, Critical Theory, Texas and the U.S. South, the United States and Greater Mexico
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Martha Menchaca
Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology
Education: Ph.D., Stanford University
Interests: US-MX Border, Indigenous Peoples, Race & Ethnicity, Oral Traditions, Immigration, Legal Anthropology
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Alba A. Ortiz
Professor Emeritus, Special Education
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Bilingual children with language and learning difficulties and disabiities
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Richard Valencia
Professor Emeritus, Educational Psychology
Education: Ph.D., University of California at Santa Barbara
Interests: Intellectual & Academic Development of Racial/Ethnic Minority Children; Psychometric Evaluation of Intelligence & Achievement Tests; & Teacher Testing & Prospective Minority Teachers
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