The Faculty

Douglas Benson, (Ph.D. University of  Mexico, 1973) Professor, Modern Languages. Spanish/Latin American Literature; literary theory; U.S. Hispanic literature,bensonml@ksu.edu

Janet Benson, (Ph.D. Brandeis University, 1974) Associate Professor, Anthropology. Ethnicity, immigration, gender, complex societies; South Asia, North American,janet@ksu.edu

Melissa Bopp, (Ph.D. University of South Carolina, 2005 Asst. Prof. of KinesIology, Promoting Health and Physical Activity in Underserved Populations, mbopp@ksu.edu

James Boyer, (Ph.D. Ohio State University, 1969) Emeritus Professor of Curriculum/Instruction and Policy Studies. Ethnicity and education; multicultural curriculum materials.

Alfred Cochran, (Ph.D. Catholic University, 1986) Asst. Provost and Professor of Music. Film music; jazz; use of jazz in film scores; American music; Jazz in Kansas City and the Midwest; Leith Stevens, Aaron Copland, Gail Kubik,cochalw@ksu.edu 

John Exdell, (Ph.D. University of Texas, 1973) Associate Professor,  Philosophy. Social, race, and political philosophy,jbex@ksu.edu

Elizabeth Fallon, (Ph.D. University of Florida, 2004) Assoc. Prof. of Exercise Science, Physical Activity and Public Health, efallon@ksu.edu

Wayne Goins, (Ph.D. Florida State University, 1998) Associate Professor, Music. The influence of culture on the emotional response to music,weg@ksu.edu

Tanya Gonzalez, (Ph.D. University of California, Riverside, 2004) Asst. Prof. of English, Latina/o Literature and Culture, Women's Studies, Cultural Studies, tgonzale@ksu.edu

David Griffin, Sr., (Ed.D. Kansas State University, 1994)Asst. Dean of Diversity and Associate Professor, Secondary Education. Education of the disadvantaged and teaching in a multicultural society, dlgriff@ksu.edu

Michelle Janette, (Ph.D. Yale University, 1997) Associate Professor, English. Gender, ethnicity, and multicultural literature, mjanette@ksu.edu

Tiffany Kershner, (Ph.D. Indiana University, 2002) Asst. Prof. of Anthropology, African Languages and Cultures, African oral literature, Cultural Semantics, language and gender, tikershn@ksu.edu

Maria Teresa Martinez-Ortiz, (Ph.D. Purdue University, 2001) Asst. Prof. of Spanish, Latin American Literature and Culture, Race, Gender, Border and Film Studies, mmtzotz@ksu.edu

Mary McElroy, (Ph.D. University of Maryland, 1978) Professor, Kinesiology. Gender, ethnicity, and sport, mmcelro@ksu.edu

Juanita McGowan, (Ph.D. Kansas State University, 1996) Asst.Dean of Diversity and Associate Professor, Director of American Ethnic Studies Program. Competency based curriculum, multicultural education, and diversity training, race, and social justice, blessing@ksu.edu

Salvador Oropesa, (Ph.D. Arizona State University, 1992) Prof. of Modern Languages, oropesa@ksu.edu

Larry Rodgers, (Ph.D. University of Wisconsin, 1989) Associate Dean and Professor, College of Arts and Science Dean's Office.  American ethnic and minority literature; twentieth-century Afro-American fiction and Native American literature; the Afro-American great migration novel; Native Americans,  rodgers@ksu.edu

Marcelo Sabates, (Ph.D. Brown University, 1997) Assoc. Prof. and Department Head of Philosophy, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mind, Epistemelogy, Philosophy in Latino Literature, sabates@ksu.edu

Donald Saucier, (Ph.D. University of Vermont, 2001) Asst. Prof. of Psychology, Measurement and Reduction of Prejudice broadly defined, to include prejudice based on race, sex, class, sexual orientation, and disability status, saucier@ksu.edu

Walter Schumm, (Ph.D. Purdue University, 1979) Prof. of Family Studies, Islam and Culture, Comparative Religion, Ethnicity and Military Families, Ethnicity and Health of Military Personnel, Ethnicity and Methodological Issues, schumm@ksu.edu

James Sherow, (Ph.D. University of Colorado, 1987) Associate Professor, History. Ethnohistory; North American Indian Peoples; Great Plains Indian Peoples, jsherow@ksu.edu

Jeffrey S. Smith, (Ph.D. Arizona State University, 1997) Associate Professor, Geography, World Regional Geography examines major culture regions of the orld; Seminar in Cultural Geography explores major themes and topics in the geographical study of culture, jssmith7@ksu.edu

Lisa Tatonetti, (Ph.D. Ohio State University, 2001) Asst. Prof. of English, American Indian Literature, GLBTQ/Two-Spirit Literatures, Multiethnic American Literature, Cultural Studies, tatonetti@ksu.edu

Kay Ann Taylor, (Ph.D. Iowa State University, 2001) Asst. Prof. of Education, Foundations of Education, Critical Race Theory, History of African Americans and Educators, Philosophy of Education, Cultural Responsive Teaching/Multicultural Education and Competency, ktaylor@ksu.edu

Cia Verschelden, (Ph.D. Harvard University, 1984)Director of Assessment and Associate Professor, Social Work, Social Welfare in the U.S., Social Policy and Native American families, cia@ksu.edu

Farrell Webb, (Ph.D. University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 1994) Associate Professor, Family Studies and Human Services. Race and ethnic relations; black families; ethnic families; health; children and adolescence; sociology,  fwebb@ksu.edu

La Barbara Wigfall, (MCRP Harvard University, 1977) Assistant Professor, Landscape Architecture. Planning and urban design; black settlements in America; origin and evolution of black communities within the continental U.S.; community preservation, lbjw@ksu.edu

Zelia Wiley, (Ph.D. Penn State University, 1996) Dean of Diversity, College of Agriculture, Diversity in the Workplace, Multiculturalism, Multicutural Competency, Cultural Pluralism, Diversity in Agricultural Sciences, Natural Resources, zwh@ksu.edu

Young-ok Yum, (Ph.D. The Pennsylvania State University, 2000) Assistant Professor, Speech Communication, Theatre and Dance. Influencing interpersonal communication including culture, perosnality traits, emotion, and technology, youngok@ksu.edu

Members of the KSU faculty who meet the criteria established by the AMETH Program may receive the additional designation of "American Ethnic Studies Faculty." Although this designation carries no budgetary implications, it may be added to the faculty member's title and signals membership in the faculty of the interdisciplinary program.

Designation as "American Ethnic Studies Faculty" is based on the individual's background in the field of American ethnic studies, using the same definitions of criteria outlined in the Faculty Handbook sections on promotion and tenure: research and publication (or other scholarly or creative endeavor appropriate to the field); teaching; and service. For appointment to the AMETH faculty, the following minimum standards will be necessary:

  • Published original scholarship or creative work concerning an American ethnic group or an aspect of American ethnicity accepted by a refereed journal or some other body of peers. The candidate should be sole or senior author.
  • Documented expertise which would qualify the appointee to teach a course which could be part of the AMETH curriculum. Such documentation may include appropriate graduate work by the applicant, published original scholarship or creative work in the field of American Ethnic Studies, or experience as the sole or senior instructor of a course that is acceptable as an AMETH course.
  • Demonstrated familiarity with and participation in, the field of American Ethnic Studies by such means as colloquia, courses, seminars, conferences, meeting of professional associations, or equivalent continuing contact with the literature and scholars of American Ethnic Studies.
  • Service activities that support the KSU AMETH Program or local, regional, or national service activities concerned with an American ethnic group or ethnicity in America.

American Ethnic Studies faculty are normally members of academic departments at Kansas State University. Faculty are expected to apply for re-certification every five years by submitting evidence of recent and current activity, including curriculum development and/or relevant original scholarship or creative work published within the past five years.

Deans, department heads, and university faculty are expected by the Provost to acknowledge achievement and contributions to American Ethnic Studies as positive and constructive contributions to the university as a whole an to take them into account when making recommendations and decisions about merit salary increases, promotion, and tenure.

The Provost named the first American Ethnic Studies Faculty in the spring of 1987.

Juanita McGowan, PhD, Director
3 Leasure Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506

Telephone: (785) 532-5738 || Fax: (785) 532-3299
E-mail: blessing@ksu.edu

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This page was last updated on 06/20/200703/03/06