TAMIU Annual Report 2021

TAMIU recently received a grant totaling over $10,000 from Humanities Texas, including matching funds, to launch a virtual speaker series bridging diversity and inclusion topics with the Humanities. When TAMIU assistant professor of Humanities Dr. Adam Kozaczka held a fellowship at Syracuse University’s Humanities Center in 2018, he discovered that an effective way to nurture the Humanities on and off campus was to emphasize how creative writers and humanists engage with issues students and the public care about. A member of TAMIU’s Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Committee (TIDE), Dr. Kozaczka partnered with TIDE co-chair and professor of Public Administration Dr. Peter Haruna and fellow TIDE member Dr. Jared Dmello, assistant professor of Criminal Justice, to write a grant application to Humanities Texas to invite renowned speakers to explore the cross section of diversity and inclusion with the Humanities. The resulting TAMIU speaker series, “Diverse Cultures, Diverse Humanities,” provides audiences with exposure to a wide range of Humanities scholars and creative writers as they engage with diversity topics, said Dr. Kozaczka. TAMIU RECEIVES HUMANITIES TEXAS GRANT FOR ‘DIVERSE CULTURES, DIVERSE HUMANITIES’ SPEAKER SERIES Three speakers presented during the Fall 2021 semester. Four others will do so in the coming Spring 2022 semester. “As members of Laredo’s various communities ask important existential questions about what it means to live on the Border, the Series hopes to provide an ongoing conversation about a series of issues connected to diversity and inclusion that brings top humanists and creative writers to share their experience and expertise with the community,” Kozaczka explained. WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH: ON BECOMING A DEAN At TAMIU the majority -- or four of the six college or school deans -- are women. Among them are mothers, a first woman Hispanic dean, and women of international origins who’ve adapted to vastly different countries and higher education systems. During Women’s History Month this year, TAMIU’s women deans: Dr. Jennifer Coronado, Graduate School; Dr. Claudia San Miguel, College of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Marivic Torregosa, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and Dr. Barbara Hong, University College, shared their life stories and the challenges they’ve had to overcome as women to reach their positions of leadership. Below, they offer advice for women wishing to follow in their professional footsteps: “You need to be a life-long learner. Stay current with what is happening in your field. Be dependable, organized, hardworking, trustworthy, a good listener, and always be positive.”-- Dr. Coronado “Be mindful of the past and the struggles women have faced, but do not let them or others deter you from achieving your goals. You have the capacity and strength to write your own story, to write her-story.” -- Dr. San Miguel. Left to right are Dr. Peter Haruna, Dr. Adam Kozaczka and Dr. Jared Dmello. FACULTY 17