Fresno State faculty experts
Several Fresno State faculty and staff members can share their academic and research expertise around issues relating to the current state of organized protest and racial-justice activism throughout the United States in reaction to the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. Others can speak to broader issues of social justice, anti-racist pedagogy, ethics, social inequality and the targeting of journalists.
This selection of experts (listed in alphabetical order by last name) represents some who have indicated their availability to discuss these matters. When reaching out to them, please include your deadline (date/time) so they can endeavor to respond in a timely manner.
If you need assistance connecting with these experts, please contact University Communications at lboyles@csufresno.edu or text 559.246.1717. NOTE: Summer office hours for Fresno State are 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., but Lisa still monitors email after hours.
Dr. Earl Aguilera, assistant professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
eaguilera@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Critical pedagogy in online teaching
- Equity issues in educational technology
- Culturally and linguistically responsive literacy instruction
Dr. Jenny Banh, professor, Department of Anthropology
jenbanh@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- The history of Asian Americans and how they were historically mistreated
- SE Asian American migration and how they were placed in certain areas
Stephen Bohigian, lecturer, Department of History
stephenbohigian@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Research focuses on policing, race and surveillance in black neighborhoods
- Protest and rebellion in 20th-century America
James Boren, lecturer, Department of Media, Communications and Journalism and executive director of Fresno State’s Institute for Media and Public Trust, former executive editor of The Fresno Bee.
stephenbohigian@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Research focuses on policing, race and surveillance in black neighborhoods
- Protest and rebellion in 20th-century America
Dr. Lisa Bryant, assistant professor, Department of Political Science
lbryant@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Public opinion
- Political participation
- Race/ethnicity and gender in representation
Dr. Travis Cronin, professor, Department of Social Work Education
travis@csufresno.edu | 208.697.6994
EXPERTISE:
- Black lives
- Black Lives Matter
- Child welfare
- Dissertation title: Experiences of bullying among African American male adolescents and their parents/guardians
Dr. Amber Crowell, assistant professor, Department of Sociology
acrowell@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Systemic racism
- White privilege
- Housing injustice and segregation
- Teaching anti-racism
Thomas-Whit Ellis, professor and director of Theatre Arts, Africana Studies program coordinator
thomee@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- African American theatre and film
- Current events in the African American community
- Stage director of productions giving voice to African American culture, history and traditions
Dr. Andrew Fiala, professor, Department of Philosophy, and executive director of the Ethics Center at Fresno State
afiala@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Civility, nonviolence and peace
- The five freedoms of the First Amendment
- Political philosophy including social justice
Dr. Kenneth Hansen, professor, Department of Political Science
kennethh@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Native American rights; treaty rights, land rights and sacred sites, Indian civil rights, voter suppression, MMIW, VAWA, UN Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations (IGR); tribal governance and administration, recognition, law pertaining to American Indians—Indian Self-Determination Act, ICWA, gaming law, Termination policy (extending state law enforcement authority over tribes), Major Crimes Act, forced relocations
- Diversity Management; representativeness, Native hiring preferences, employment rights, harassment and wrongful termination, Native-serving organizations
Dr. T. Hasan Johnson, associate professor, Africana Studies Program
thjohnson@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Black male studies
- Black masculinity/manhood
- Comparative black gender
- 20th–century Africana socio-political history.
- Video: “What is the Black Masculinist Agenda?”
- Video: “Who Will Cry For the Little Boy?: Coolio, Rape, and the Erasure of Black Boy Trauma”
Dr. Deborah Helsel, associate professor, Department of Sociology
deborahh@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Health care/health status inequalities
Dr. Ethan Kytle, professor and chair, Department of History
ekytle@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Can speak to the broader historical context on the Floyd protests, including the history of race relations/inequality in the U.S., the American protest tradition and the targeting of Confederate monuments
- Author, along with Dr. Blain Roberts, of “Denmark Vesey’s Garden: Slavery and Memory in the Cradle of the Confederacy”
Dr. Patricia D. López, assistant professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
pdlopez@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Education policy and planning
- Race, culture and language in education
- Community college pathways to teaching
- K12 ethnic studies and teacher preparation
Dr. Luis Fernando Macias, professor, Chicano and Latin American Studies
luisfernando@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Immigrant Education
- Social Justice Education
- Critical Race Theory (CRT)
- Latinx Critical Theory (LatCrit)
- Latina/o/x Studies
- Race and Ethnicity
- Undocumented Studies
- Immigration Studies
Dr. Jessica McKenzie, associate professor, Child and Family Science
jmckenzie@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Human development in cultural context
- Psychological adaptation to cultural change
- Teaches about structural inequality in the U.S., the socialization of racism and the development of critical consciousness
Dr. Rohit Mehta, assistant professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
mehta@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Critical humanizing pedagogy
- Decolonizing education
- Critical discourse analysis and media literacy
- Neoliberalism and education
Dr. Francine Oputa, (staff) director of the Cross Cultural and Gender Center
francine@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Diversity and inclusion
- Unconscious bias
- Managing difficult conversations
- Microaggressions
- White privilege
Dr. Tania Pacheco-Werner, research scientist with the Central Valley Health Policy Institute
tpacheco@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Land use; segregation, Fresno specific
- Neighborhoods and opportunities for African Americans
- Maternal child health disparities, especially African Americans
- Educational disparities, Fresno specific
- Economic opportunities and disparities, Fresno specific
- Latinos and BLM movement
Dr. Megan Pronovost, assistant professor Child and Family Service
megpronovost@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Investigates the origins of stereotypes by examining when and how young children begin to make generalizations and social-group based inferences about the characteristics and behaviors of people
- Studies environmental influences on young children’s reasoning about social categories such as how parents talk about social categories and how it influences the generalizations children make about social categories and the beliefs they form about social categories
Dr. Jennifer Randles, associate professor and chair, Department of Sociology
jrandles@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Racialized effects on family-formation and social policy
- Parenting and race, teaching anti-racism, how racial concepts develop in childhood
Dr. James Rocha, associate professor, Department of Philosophy, and coordinator of the Social Justice and Social Change certificate program
jamesr@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Ethics
- Political philosophy, philosophy of law
- Philosophy of race, social justice
Brynn Saito, assistant professor, Department of English and co-director of Yonsei Memory Project
bsaito@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- The power of arts in community
- Intersection of poetry and politics
- Histories of the Japanese American incarceration
- Intercultural solidarities
Dr. Don Simmons, lecturer, Department of Sociology
dsimmons@csufresno.edu
EXPERTISE:
- Inequalities in philanthropic giving to black/POC-led community benefit organizations (CBOs)
- Inequalities in access to funding and resources for black/POC led CBOs
- Disparities in the rates of volunteerism by black/POC populations
- The lack of representation of black/POC persons on CBO boards, staffs and volunteers
- The lack of representations of black/POC persons on local government, commissions, boards and task forces
- Invisible history: the lack of resources listed on the local register of historic resources which represent the black population and events in the black community
