Miranda M. Allen is a doctoral candidate in STEM Education in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at Texas Tech University. Her research explores secondary science education for grades 9-12, advancing Black girls in STEM education, and the development of informal STEM learning environments. Bringing a wealth of experience from her 12-year career in education, Miranda has made significant contributions as a high school science teacher, a K-8 STEM coordinator, and a director of after-school and summer STEM initiatives. Her dissertation research delves into the experiences and identity development of Black girls in high school science, investigating how their stories, shared both formally and informally, can transform our understanding and practice of science education. Through her work, Miranda is dedicated to influencing the current academic discourse, aiming to reshape the narrative and perception of Black girls in STEM fields.

Dr. Comfort Pratt, Associate Professor of Bilingual Education and English as a Second Language, received the 2022 YWCA Women of Excellence Award for Education, and was inducted into the Women of Excellence Academy on March 3, 2022. The Women of Excellence program honors women of Lubbock who have achieved excellence in their careers and whose contributions have been crucial to the success of business, industry, community organizations, and the community. Among Dr. Pratt's accomplishments that were highlighted were her numerous awards in all aspects of her career and her passionate devotion to the creation of language programs that benefit not only higher education but also PreK-12 students. Her Lubbock Spanish Spelling Bee and poetry competitions have contributed tremendously to the enhancement of Spanish in the school districts, and her publications have provided crucial information for the teaching of Spanish and French and brought into focus issues related to African Americans in Spanish programs. She has established various programs at Texas Tech University including a Spanish program, a master's program in Bilingual Education and ESL, and 5 study abroad programs. She is also the advisor of the university's chapter of Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society, which organizes many programs in the university and the community and has won 17 consecutive National Honor Chapter Awards under her leadership.

Dr. Jongpil Cheon has been selected as an Integrated Scholar for 2022. Integrated Scholars are faculty who dedicate themselves to a course of lifelong learning and advance Texas Tech's role in educating, serving and inspiring others to do the same. Integrated Scholars are not only outstanding in teaching, research and service, but they are also able to generate synergy among the three functions.

The “Texas Education Policy Fellowship Program (TX-EPFP)” project was selected for the Texas Tech's 2022 President's Emerging Engaged Scholarship Award. The award recognizes the commitments made by Drs. Rebecca Hite, Jon McNaughtan, and Jessica Gottlieb to engage meaningfully with community partners and to produce positive impacts on the university and the greater Texas community. The TX-EPFP is a nine-month intensive professional development program for emerging and mid-level leaders in education and education related fields. We provide rich and robust a/synchronous and in-person experiences to both educate and empower fellows in their work for sound education policy and practice in the state of Texas. The TX-EPFP fellows participate in a variety of unique activities to discover the multifaceted aspects of education policy with experts across the state, develop their leadership skills through practice, expand their professional networks, and explore equitable avenues for fostering positive impact for stakeholders and communities within Texas education. TX-EPFP is affiliated with the Center for Research in Leadership and Education at Texas Tech University.

Joseph Acaba, who earned a master’s degree in 2015 from the Curriculum and Instruction program, was one of 18 astronauts selected for the team.

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