Faculty & Staff Spotlights

Felisia Tagaban Gaskin ( Diné/Tlingit/Filipino) is a doctoral student in the Educational Policy Studies and Practice Department at the University of Arizona (UA). Felisia obtained her BA (Creative Writing) and Master's (Higher Education) at the University of Arizona.

Felisia is now the director for the Native SOAR (Student Outreach Access and Resiliency) service-learning course, a multigenerational mentoring program that centers the needs of American Indian/Alaska Native students throughout the K-20 educational system. Now, and in her previous role as a graduate assistant, Felicia provided culturally responsive mentoring and support services for Indigenous middle and high school students as they explored their options in higher education. A few years ago, Felisia created and submitted a proposal for a full-time staff position combining her knowledge of higher education with her experience in the K-12 setting. This new position emerged from Tagaban Gaskin’s advocacy and the support of Assistant Professor Karina Salazar, SUSD Superintendent Steve Holmes, VP of Enrollment Management Kasey Urquidez, Dean Bruce Johnson, and EPSP Department Head Regina Deil-Amen. She approached leaders at both The University of Arizona and SUSD after seeing the need for these institutions to establish educational pathways for Indigenous youth. And this is exactly what her work in this new position will entail.

Both the College and Native SOAR are thrilled for Tagaban Gaskin. Native SOAR wrote the following to reflect on the impact she has had on the College, University, and tribal communities throughout Arizona through her work with the program over the past few years:

“When Felisia came to the College of Education in the 2017-18 school year, she served as a full-time SUSD Native American Education Program student advisor and as a part-time Native SOAR coordinator, where she and Dr. Amanda Cheromiah kept the program afloat. From 2018 to July 2021, Felisia served as a Native SOAR graduate assistant. During this time, Felisia was instrumental to the institutionalization of Native SOAR.

She and students from Voices of Indigenous Concerns in Education (VOICE) created campus-wide systemic change for Indigenous UArizona students. Through Felisia and VOICE's efforts, Native SOAR received funding for operations and a director position. Additionally, Felisia served as the primary content creator for Native SOAR’s social media. She was critical to increasing the digital presence of the program in the community. Felisia also organized and participated in mentoring and community events, and school programs, which strengthened relationships with tribal communities and local school district families. We look forward to partnering with Felisia as she works with the College of Education, Admissions, and SUSD to guide and prepare Indigenous students for their journeys into and through college!”

Heather Haeger was awarded the NSF grant for the project titled: Research on Educational Equity and Diversity in STEM (REEDS) Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. Awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), it is a $1.25 million, three-year grant aiming to support four postdoctoral researchers to study culturally responsive practices in STEM. The project is jointly funded through NSF’s Directorate for Education and Human Resources and the Hispanic Serving Institution Program.

Heather and her team focus their research on how students and educators can connect their cultures and communities to STEM education. As a result build a culturally responsive and inclusive STEM learning environment in high schools, community colleges, and universities. The research connects to the diverse local communities and the University of Arizona's mission as a Hispanic Serving Institution in Southern Arizona.

Principal Investigator: Heather Haeger
Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Regina Deil-Amen
Co-Pricipal Investigator: Guadalupe Lozano
Co-Pricipal Investigator: Judy Marquez Kiyama
Key Personnel: Marla Franco

NSF Award Abstract
Press Release

To learn more about her research on inclusive approaches to undergraduate research, take a look at some of her published findings: 

• Google Scholar
• Keynote in fall – related to undergraduate research
• Creating More Inclusive Research Environments for Undergraduates
• An examination of inclusivity and support for diversity in STEM fields
• Mentoring for inclusion: The impact of mentoring on undergraduate researchers in the sciences

Moira Ozias is an Assistant Professor in the Center for the Study of Higher Education. Her research focuses on equity in higher education practice, especially investigating white women’s racism and processes for creating educational spaces and curricula that resist racism and work toward racial justice. She uses critical whiteness, gender, and affect theories to understand how college experiences support and resist white women’s affective and spatial investments in white supremacy. 

Dr. Ozias grew up in the rural Midwest in a family of teachers and farmers, and her background in social work informs her interest in community collaborations. She earned a B.A in English from Baker University (Kansas), an M.A. in English and M.S.W. (Social Welfare) from the University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. in Adult & Higher Education from the University of Oklahoma. Prior to joining the University of Arizona faculty, Dr. Ozias taught College Student Affairs Leadership at Grand Valley State University, Student Affairs Administration at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and spent over 15 years working in higher education administration at the University of Oklahoma and the University of Kansas. She also serves as Director of Research and Scholarship for ACPA (2019-2022).

Assistant Professors Kevin Henry and DeMarcus Jenkins are among the winners of the JV Educational Leadership Award from JV Educational Consultants.

JV Educational Consultants is a Michigan-based firm that provides student and faculty development and leadership consulting services to associations, colleges, nonprofit organizations and other institutions. Its Leadership Awards recognize "outstanding leadership within the field of higher education." The committee that selects the awardees considers endorsements from faculty, staff, and administrators from across the country.

They received their awards at JV Educational’s 18th Annual International Males of Color Empowerment and Retention Conference in October.

Read the article.

Professor Jenny Lee was a guest in the FreshEd Podcast to discuss the underlying U.S. political climate for international students and scholars. Lee discusses the rise in discrimination and hate crimes.

Welcome! Professor Judy Marquez Kiyama joined our Center for the Study of Higher Education and also serves as the university’s associate vice provost for faculty development, increasing institutional capacity among faculty to excel in our Hispanic Serving Institution designation. Kiyama is a nationally renowned scholar and was featured in this story out of the University of Denver.

Welcome, Assistant Professor of Practice Jamaica DelMar, Ph.D! Jamaica DelMar (Ed.D.) defines herself as a mom, wife, daughter, and friend. She has worked in higher education for 12 years, and her previous positions at other institutions include Registrar, Assistant Registrar, Adjunct Faculty, and Academic Advisor at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul Minnesota. She is a longtime volunteer at organizations serving homeless families. Jamaica’s work as an educator and empowerment facilitator with the Jeremiah Program led her to her interests in mentoring students regarding their college goals and taking an activist and innovative approach to such service, teaching, and research in a way that drives her commitment to and passion for leading Project. Dr. DelMar loves to garden and is an avid rockhound.  Her other interests include reading, social justice, equity in education, public art, music, and candy making. Her dissertation was entitled, “A Phenomenological Inquiry into the Perceptions of Single Mother College Students.”