Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs

Dr. Katherine Cho

Dr. Katherine S. Cho comes from a family of educators. This, along with her experiences as a scholar, instructor, administrator, advocate, and activist, grounds her research, pedagogy, and commitment to critique educational institutions and (re)humanize academia. As an assistant professor in higher education at Loyola University Chicago, she explores how colleges and universities serve as both sites of transformation towards social justice and as sites of harm and violence. Her research spans across campus activism; institutionalized racism; retention efforts; and flipping the narrative of "why aren't students prepared for college" to "why aren't colleges prepared for students."

Prior, Dr. Cho was an assistant professor at Miami University, research analyst, higher education administrator, student affairs professional, wedding coordinator, mural artist, and worked for an educational nonprofit. She received a Ph.D. and M.A. in Education from the University of California, Los Angeles; an M.A. in Sociology & Education from Columbia University, Teachers College; and a B.A. in Public Policy Studies from Duke University. You can find her at her local plant shop, usually in crisis due to her overdramatic ficus plant, or at a bookstore dreaming of her own library. Online, she is at katscho[dot]com or on Twitter at katsch0 (a zero).

Antonio Duran, Auburn University, Twitter

Antonio Duran (he/him) is an Assistant Professor at Auburn University in the Administration of Higher Education program. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Antonio had the opportunity to attend New York University for his undergraduate institution thanks to a first-generation college student scholars program. From his time at NYU, he then attended Miami University in Oxford, OH, receiving his master's degree in Student Affairs in Higher Education. It was during his time at Miami University that he found his love for engaging in research about minoritized individuals in postsecondary education. He pursued this passion for research by obtaining his Ph.D. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the Ohio State University. Now, his scholarship involves understanding how historical and contemporary legacies of oppression (e.g., racism, heterosexism, and trans oppression) influence college student development, experiences, and success.

Blanca Torres-Olave, Loyola University Chicago, SOE

Blanca Torres-Olave is an Associate Professor of Higher Education and International Higher Education at Loyola University Chicago. Her current research uses gendered and transnational perspectives to analyze the transition to the labor market and overall quality of employment for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) graduates. Her work on international higher education includes research on English-medium instruction in postcolonial contexts and its impact on student identity and academic communities; as well as the stratification of academic labor and networks from a comparative perspective. She received her PhD from the University of Arizona and also holds degrees from the University of British Columbia and from Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua.

Brit Williams, St. Cloud State University, Twitter

Brittany M. Williams, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. Her research critically examines workplace and career development issues, social class, identity, and HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness in college contexts. Black women and girls serve as her primary population for scholarly inquiry. An avid community builder, Williams is a co-founder of #CiteASista and one of five founding members of #SisterPhD, two digital counter-communities for Black women within and beyond college and university environments. Williams’ scholarship, as well as her personal and professional advocacy, have been featured in and by the White House Initiative on HBCUs, National Public Radio (NPR), the National Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI), Teach for America, the National Minority Aids Council (NMAC) and in a host of academic journals. You can find her tweeting away via @DrBritWilliams and online at drbritwilliams[dot]com.

Chris R. Glass, Boston College, Twitter

Chris R. Glass, PhD, is a Professor of the Practice in the Department of Educational Leadership & Higher Education at Boston College. His research and writing focus on issues of equity, sustainability, and belonging in global student mobility. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of International Students, the Co-Editor of the Routledge Studies in Global Student Mobility book series, and Vice President for Research and Public Policy at the STAR Scholars Network. He co-authored the recent monograph by the American Council on Education (ACE) titled, "Toward Greater Inclusion and Success: A New Compact for International Students” and was the recipient of the NAFSA Innovative Research in International Education Award. He has a deep commitment to the transformative power of international education, developed through years of leading study abroad programs and strengthened by personal connections with international students and scholars around the world. His research has been published in the International Journal of Educational Development, Studies in Higher Education, Higher Education Research & Development, Compare, International Journal of Intercultural Relations, and the Journal of Studies in International Education.

Lorenzo Baber, Loyola University Chicago, Twitter

Lorenzo DuBois Baber is an Associate Professor and Program Chair of Higher Education at Loyola University Chicago. Dr. Baber's scholarly interest broadly examine equity and social justice in post-secondary education. His research foci include leadership within community college contexts; experiences of minoritized students in post-secondary STEM education; and use of critical theory to inform higher education policies and practices.

Dr. Baber is the author of nearly forty journal articles, book chapters, and policy reports. His scholarship has been published in leading higher education journals and featured in public spaces, including the National Science Foundation website and National Public Radio (NPR). Dr. Baber has served on over 60 doctoral dissertations committees and chaired 18, including on that was awarded the 2017 Outstanding Dissertation of the Year from the American Association of Hispanics in Education. He has taught sixteen different course topics in higher education.

Raja Gopal Bhattar, Bhattar Consulting, LLC & American River College, Twitter

Dr. Raja Gopal Bhattar (pronouns: they/them/theirs) is a nationally-recognized higher education leader, advocate, strategist and author. Previously, Dr. Bhattar served as the Assistant Provost and Executive Director of the Center for Identity + Inclusion at the University of Chicago, overseeing the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, LGBTQ Student Life and Student Support Services along with campus-wide climate and inclusion work. Raja has also held positions at the University of California – Los Angeles, American River College (Los Rios Community College District), University of Redlands, University of Vermont, Champlain College and Semester at Sea (University of Virginia). They hold a PhD and Master of Arts degrees in Higher Education and Organizational Change from UCLA, a Master of Education in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration from the University of Vermont and Bachelor’s in Psychology with a minor in Spanish Literature from Boston University.

Raja’s work straddles qualitative and quantitative approaches to intersectional identity development and the experiences of LGBTQ people, immigrants, first-generation students, international students and people of color in higher education. Dr. Bhattar is an inaugural Racial Equity Fellow with InterFaith Youth Core’s Interfaith America initiative. Dr. Bhattar comes from a lineage of Hindu spiritual leaders and is a proud queer and gender non-conforming person of color, 1.5 generation immigrant, first-generation college student and spiritual practitioner. They approach this work with a passion for sustainable organizational impact and a bold vision of equity and access through social change.

Stephen Santa-Ramirez, University at Buffalo, Twitter

Dr. Stephen Santa-Ramirez (he/him) is currently an Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the University at Buffalo. His vast experiences in higher education and student affairs include work in Multicultural and LGBT+ Affairs, Residential Life and Housing Services, and Migrant Student Services. A former Associate Editor for JCSHESA, Dr. Santa Ramirez's personal and professional experiences in higher education – and identity as a scholar-activist – have played formative roles in developing his research agenda. Writ large, his scholarship investigates campus racial climate, first-generation students' sense of belonging, and the various ways race, ethnicity, and im/migration inform Latinx collegians’ educational experiences. Dr. Santa-Ramirez holds a Ph.D. in Educational Policy & Evaluation from Arizona State University, a master’s in Student Affairs Administration from Michigan State University, and a bachelor’s in Communication Studies from West Chester University. In his spare time, he enjoys salsa dancing, hiking, traveling, and binge-watching various tv shows.

Sydney Curtis, Loyola University Chicago

Originally from Dallas, Texas, Sydney Curtis (she/her) is a third-year doctoral student in Higher Education at Loyola University Chicago (LUC). Her research focuses on the relationship between spirituality, social justice, Black feminism, and critical pedagogies. She also works at the University of Chicago as a Learning Designer and offers editing, facilitation and curriculum design services through her LLC, Convey Editing and Curriculum Design. Sydney earned a B.S. in Athletic Training from Texas State University in 2016 and an M.Ed. in Higher Education from LUC in 2018. In her free time, she enjoys going on walks, listening to music, and visiting coffee shops throughout Chicago.

Tonia Guida, The University of Texas at Austin, Twitter

Tonia Guida currently serves on the faculty for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Concentration in the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin and is a Visiting Scholar in the Center for Critical Race Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her dissertation was titled, White College Women, Race, and Place Matters: White Undergraduate Women’s Experiences and Perceptions of whiteness at UCLA, a qualitative study that examined whiteness, gender, and the lived environment for white undergraduate women. Her research agenda entails theorizing around whiteness in higher education and developing more racially and socially just campus environments. Her most recent scholarship has been featured in Taboo, Urban Education, The Review of Higher Ed, Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, and Community College Review.

Travis Smith, University of Florida, Twitter

Dr. Travis C. Smith earned a Ph.D in the Educational Leadership in Higher Education at Clemson University. As a critical educator, he focuses on inquiry, practice, and pedagogy that helps disrupt oppressive systems in order to support racially minoritized students. His research agenda is centered in Black student involvement, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Black graduate students.

Some of his previous work utilizes a variety of methodological qualitative approaches such as phenomenology, photo-elicitation, photovoice, and critical participatory action research. Travis’ work can be found in the Journal of Student Affairs in Africa, The Bulletin, The Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research, and The Journal of Student Affairs. Travis is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of the Student Personnel in Higher Education program at the University of Florida. He ultimately hopes to become a university president of an HBCU.

Z Nicolazzo, University of Arizona, Twitter

Dr. Z Nicolazzo is an Associate Professor of Trans* Studies in Education in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and Practice at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on the affects and effects of discourses of gender in higher education. Her first book is titled Trans* In College: Transgender Students' Strategies for Navigating Campus Life and the Institutional Politics of Inclusion.