Lucy Arellano is an associate professor in the College of Education at Texas Tech University. She has over fifteen years of experience in the field of higher education. Her research focuses on persistence, retention and degree completion for emerging majority students. Concepts of campus climates, engagement and student co-curricular involvement ground her work. Furthermore, she examines campus environments and how institutional agency influences student success. Current and future work also investigates student mobility across multiple colleges/universities and varying institutional types. Dr. Arellano's research spans across three different spheres of influence that include 1) student experiences, 2) higher education institutions and 3) societal contexts. At times her work considers each of these facets independently, while at others it considers their inter-relatedness on student success.
In her latest grant, she serves as a co-principal investigator on a $1 million, five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) grant whose purpose is to develop a culturally-relevant framework, to understand the intersection of Latinx identity and developing a STEM identity at a Hispanic-Serving Institution that is also a community college to support students' degree completion, persistence and transitions to life beyond the community college. The driving force behind all aspects of her work is student success. This passion emerged as a Latina first-generation college student learning how to navigate higher education 2,500 miles away from home as an 18-year old. In her teaching, she is proud to shape, influence and nurture future educators, scholars, administrators, community college presidents, policymakers and community leaders. In her service endeavors, she is an advocate for marginalized communities and social justice initiatives.
What is the last book you read? The last book I read that was not related to research or classes I teach was "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika Sánchez. It is an interesting coming of age story about a teenage woman whose older sister is killed in a freak accident. It chronicles the events and emotions that the younger sister experiences and works through as she tries to understand who her older sister was after finding a few articles of interest in her older sister's bedroom. What I got out of the book was to be more intentional with what we do in our day-to-day existence. This of course has been exacerbated with COVID-19. What do we want our legacy to be? How are we going to leave this world in a better place than how we found it?
What do you do for fun outside of work? Whenever I move to a new place, I intentionally find the hot spots and explore all the new things (to me) in the new city. This usually means finding at least one place a week to venture out to and check out. I look forward to visiting a lot of the places that Lubbock has to offer, which unfortunately will have to wait until this quarantine is over and we are all able to engage and be visitors in public places once again.
Jin Kyeong Jung is an assistant professor of Language, Diversity & Literacy Studies in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Texas Tech University. Dr. Jung received her Ph.D. in Literacy, Culture and International Education from the University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests include digital literacies, education in global contexts, multilingual learners' language and literacy practices. In her recent work, she worked closely with teachers and linguistically and culturally diverse youths across borders. She is especially interested in creating opportunities for transnational youth where they could leverage their multiple resources to become global citizens in digitally infused literacy curriculum. She has received a number of awards and fellowships for her work, including the Y.H. Park Fellowship in Korean Studies, the International Research Foundation for English Language Education's Doctoral Dissertation Grant, President Gutmann Leadership Award from the University of Pennsylvania, Turner-Schulman Graduate Fellowship, GAPSA Provost Fellowship for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Graduate Research Grant from the James Joo-Jin Kim Program in Korean Studies. She has taught in a variety of contexts and populations including secondary school students, college students and pre- and in-service teachers, nationally and internationally.
What is the last book you read? "Ethnography and Virtual Worlds: A Handbook of Method"
What do you do for fun outside of work? Walking outside, hiking, traveling, trying new restaurants, cooking and watching TV shows.
J. Jacob Kirksey is an assistant professor in the Educational Leadership Policy program. His scholarship is broadly focused on issues at the nexus of education and other areas of public policy, including immigration policy, child and family policy and health policy. His work stresses a holistic approach to policymaking by drawing attention to knowledge gaps in how changes made in and outside of schools interact with dynamic educational contexts. The goal of his research is to foster data-driven decision making in local, state and federal policy to forge win-win public policies that reduce inequality in schools. To evaluate programs and policies, Dr. Kirksey employs quasi-experimental techniques using datasets from school districts, government agencies and large-scale surveys. He has published extensively on topics related to student absenteeism and truancy, inclusion and special education, the ripple effects of immigration enforcement and teachers and teacher education. Dr. Kirksey's research has been highlighted in several popular media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Education Week, The Hechinger Report and Chalkbeat.
What is the last book you read? "Framing Immigrants: News Coverage, Public Opinion, and Policy"
What do you do for fun outside of work? Outside of work, I enjoy gardening, hiking and other outdoor activities.