817.272.3131
gwsstudies@uta.edu
People
Meet our faculty and staff
We need people to help grow our dreams, achieve our goals, and encourage us when the going gets rough. Our Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies professors and staff bring their experience and expertise to the courses they teach and the conversations they have with students who are ready to build their dreams as Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Minors.
Director
Dustin Harp (she/her), Ph.D. University of Wisconsin at Madison
Areas of Specialty: Women, Marginalized Communities, Media, Journalism
Email: dustinh@uta.edu
Title(s): Director, Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies | Associate Professor, Department of Communication
Advisor
W. Alex Hunnicutt, Ph.D. University of Texas at Arlington
Areas of Specialty: LGBTQ+ US and European History
Email: hunnicut@uta.edu
Title(s): Student Advisor, Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies | Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of History
Faculty and Staff
W. Alex Hunnicutt, Ph.D. University of Texas at Arlington
Areas of Specialty: LGBTQ+ US and European History
Email: hunnicut@uta.edu
Title(s): Student Advisor, Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies | Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of History
Roshan Mashal, Journalism, Kabul University
Areas of Specialty: Human Rights Activism
Email: roshan.mashal@uta.edu
Title(s): Visiting Scholar, Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies
Mark Reeder (He/Him), MA, University of Texas at Arlington
Areas of Specialty: Video Game Studies, Queer Studies, and Feminist Theory
Email: mreeder@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Director of Campus Visits & Events | Adjunct Assistant Professor, English and Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies
Lauren Phelps, PhD, The University of Texas at Arlington
Areas of Specialty: Feminist Theory, Modernist Women’s Literature, Archive Theory, Cultural Studies
Email: lauren.phelps@uta.edu
Title(s): Adjunct Assistant Professor, Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies | Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Advisory Board | Adjunct Assistant Professor, English
Alicia Garza, MA UT Brownsville
Areas of Specialty: Marginalized Communities, Latinx identities, Gender
Email: alicia.garza@uta.edu
Title(s): Adjunct Assistant Professor, Modern Languages and Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies
De’An O. Roper (she/her), Ph.D. Texas Woman's University
Areas of Specialty: Clinical Social Work and LGBTQ+ Issues
Email: dean.roper@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor of Practice, School of Social Work | Adjunct Professor, Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies
Sophia Johnson
Graduate Student Office Assistant
Email: sophia.johnson2@uta.edu
Advisory Board
Grace Ellen Brannon, Ph.D. Texas A&M University
Areas of Specialty: Health Communication, Patient-Provider, Family, Women of Minority Backgrounds, Health Interventions, Mixed-Methods
Email: grace.brannon@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor, Department of Communication | Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Advisory Board
Janet Burka
Areas of Specialty: Anthropology, Business, Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, Sociology
Email: janet.burka@uta.edu
Title(s): Multidisciplinary Librarian - Research Services | Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Advisory Board
Molly Wiant Cummins (she/her), Ph.D. Southern Illinois University
Areas of Specialty: Mother Studies, Critical Communication Pedagogy, Critical Studies
Email: molly.cummins@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor, Department of Communication | Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Advisory Board
Sophia Fantus, Ph.D. University of Toronto
Areas of Specialty: LGBTQ+ Issues, Clinical Ethics, Bioethics, Moral Distress
Email: Sophia.fantus@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor, School of Social Work | Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Advisory Board
Florence Haseltine, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MD Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Areas of Specialty: Women’s Health, Genetics and Sexual Dimorphism
Email: fhaseltine@uta.edu
Title(s): Professor, College of Nursing | Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Advisory Board
Lauren Phelps, PhD, The University of Texas at Arlington
Areas of Specialty: Feminist Theory, Modernist Women’s Literature, Archive Theory, Cultural Studies
Email: lauren.phelps@uta.edu
Title(s): Adjunct Assistant Professor, Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies | Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Advisory Board | Adjunct Assistant Professor, English
Mark Reeder (He/Him), MA, University of Texas at Arlington
Areas of Specialty: Video Game Studies, Queer Studies, and Feminist Theory
Email: mreeder@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Director of Campus Visits & Events | Adjunct Assistant Professor, English and Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies
Ericka Roland, Ph.D. University of South Florida-St. Petersburg
Areas of Specialty: Educational leadership; Critical Studies; Black Feminism
Email: ericka.roland@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies | Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Advisory Board
Jessica Sanchez (she/her/ella), Ph.D., MSW, MEd Widener University
Areas of Specialty: Human Sexuality and Empowerment, Feminist and Queer Theory
Email: jessica.sanchez@uta.edu
Title(s): Director, Student Advocacy Services | Assistant Professor in Practice, School of Social Work | Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Advisory Board
Natalia Trigo-Acuña, Ph.D. University of Houston
Areas of Specialty: Border Studies, Immigration Literature, and Speculative Fiction
Email: natalia.trigo@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor, Department of Modern Languages | Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Advisory Board
Max Wilson
Email: mxw9919@mavs.uta.edu
Title(s): Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Advisory Board | Student, Interpersonal Communication
Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Affiliated Faculty
Karla Arenas-Itotia (she/her), MSSW, LMSW University of Texas at Arlington
Areas of Specialty: Trauma, Mental Health, Relationship and Sexual Violence, Violence Prevention, Victim Services and Advocacy, Student Success and Support Services
Email: karla.arenas@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor in Practice, School of Social Work
Myrtle P. Bell, Ph.D. University of Texas at Arlington
Areas of Specialty: Diversity, Discrimination, Social Issues
Karabi C. Bezboruah, Ph.D. University of Texas at Dallas
Areas of Specialty: Women's Development, Microfinance institutions, Community Organizing
Email: bezborua@uta.edu
Title(s): Associate Professor, College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs
Grace Ellen Brannon, Ph.D. Texas A&M University
Areas of Specialty: Health Communication, Patient-Provider, Family, Women of Minority Backgrounds, Health Interventions, Mixed-Methods
Email: grace.brannon@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor, Department of Communication | Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Advisory Board
Kyrah K. Brown, Ph.D. Wichita State University
Areas of Specialty: Maternal Health Equity
Email: kyrah.brown@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology
Shelley Christie, Ph.D. Texas Christian University
Areas of Specialty: Gothic Literature, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Victorian Literature, Rhetorical Studies, Digital Teaching and Learning
Email: rechelle@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor in Practice, Department of English | Director of Digital Teaching and Learning English
Stephanie Cole, Ph.D. University of Florida
Areas of Specialty: US Women's and Social History and the Intersections of Gender, Race, Work, and Sex
Email: scole@exchange.uta.edu
Title(s): Associate Professor, Department of History
Jandel Crutchfield, Ph.D., LCSW Louisiana State University
Areas of Specialty: Well-Being of African American Women, Children, and Families; Experiences of Colorism Among Women of Color
Email: jandel.crutchfield@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor, School of Social Work
August Davis
Areas of Specialty: Feminist Artwork and Art History
Email: august.davis@uta.edu
Title(s): Department Chair, Art and Art History | Associate Professor, Art and Art History | Director of The Gallery at UTA
Jaya Davis, Ph.D. Prairie View A&M
Areas of Specialty: Women and Girls and the Justice System
Email: jbdavis@uta.edu
Title(s): Associate Professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Rebecca Deen , Ph.D. Ohio State University
Areas of Specialty: Women in the Political Process, US Presidency, Civic Engagement
Email: deen@uta.edu
Title(s): Associate Dean, College of Liberal Arts | Professor, Political Science Department
Sarah A. El Sayed, Ph.D. University of Texas at Dallas
Areas of Specialty: Gender and Criminal Outcomes, Developmental and Life-Course Criminology, Quantitative Methods
Email: sarah.elsayed@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice
J. Austin Eyer, MFA Pennsylvania State University
Areas of Specialty: Theatre Arts, Musical Theatre, Queer Studies
Email: austin.eyer@uta.edu
Title(s): Head of Musical Theatre and Assistant Professor, Department of Theatre Arts and Dance
Sophia Fantus, Ph.D. University of Toronto
Areas of Specialty: LGBTQ+ Issues, Clinical Ethics, Bioethics, Moral Distress
Email: Sophia.fantus@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor, School of Social Work | Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Advisory Board
Jacqueline Fay, Ph.D. University of Notre Dame
Areas of Specialty: Early Medieval Literature and Culture
Email: Jacqueline.fay@uta.edu
Title(s): Associate Professor, Department of English | Associate Chair, Department of English
Bryan Florentin, MFA University of North Texas
Areas of Specialty: Photography, Installation Art, Conceptual Art, LGBTQIA+ Art History
Email: bryan@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor, Department of Art and Art History
Zerita Hall, MSW University of Texas at Arlington
Areas of Specialty: Corrections, Ethics, Brain and Behavior, Gerontology, Children & Family Social Work
Email: zhall@uta.edu
Title(s): Senior Lecturer, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Kiva Harper (she/her), MSSW University of Texas at Arlington, BS University of North Texas
Areas of Specialty: Trauma, Military Social Work, Mental Health, Domestic Violence, Substance Abuse, Grief
Email: harperkiva@uta.edu
Title(s): Associate Professor in Practice, School of Social Work
Florence Haseltine, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MD Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Areas of Specialty: Women’s Health, Genetics and Sexual Dimorphism
Email: fhaseltine@uta.edu
Title(s): Professor, College of Nursing | Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Advisory Board
W. Alex Hunnicutt, Ph.D. University of Texas at Arlington
Areas of Specialty: LGBTQ+ US and European History
Email: hunnicut@uta.edu
Title(s): Student Advisor, Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies | Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of History
Heather Jacobson, Ph.D. Brandeis University
Areas of Specialty: Reproduction, Sociology of Families, Qualitative Research Methods
Email: jacobson@uta.edu
Title(s): Chair, Department of Sociology and Anthropology | Director of Graduate Studies
Mia M. Kirby (she/her), Ph.D. Texas Woman's University
Areas of Specialty: Qualitative Research Examining Intersectional Approaches, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Mental Health, Discrimination
Email: mia.kirby@uta.edu
Title(s): Professor in Practice, Center of African American Studies | Professor in Practice, School of Social Work
Peggy Kulesz, Ph.D. University of Texas at Arlington
Areas of Specialty: Women's Literature, Life Writing, 19th-Century Poets/Hymnists
Email: kulesz@uta.edu
Title(s): Distinguished Senior Lecturer, Department of English
Catherine LaBrenz (she/her), Ph.D. University of Texas at Austin
Areas of Specialty: Child Welfare, Family Engagement, Family and Community Resilience
Email: catherine.labrenz@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor, School of Social Work
Michael Nelson, Ph.D. University of Alberta, Canada
Areas of Specialty: Cardiovascular Physiology
Email: Michael.nelson3@uta.edu
Title(s): Adjunct Professor, Department of Bioengineering | Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology
Patty Newton, MFA University of Texas at Arlington
Areas of Specialty: Women's History, Women's Rights, Media Representation, LGBTQIA+ History, LGBTQIA+ Rights, LGBTQIA+ Representation (domestic and global)
Email: pnewton@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor of Practice, Department of Art and Art History
Morgan Pettyjohn, Ph.D. Michigan State University
Areas of Specialty: Violence, Social Media, Masculinities
Vijayan K. Pillai, Ph.D. University of Iowa
Areas of Specialty: Women's Reproductive Rights, Human Rights, Reproductive Health
Ericka Roland, Ph.D. University of South Florida-St. Petersburg
Areas of Specialty: Educational leadership; Critical Studies; Black Feminism
Email: ericka.roland@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies | Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Advisory Board
De’An O. Roper (she/her), Ph.D. Texas Woman's University
Areas of Specialty: Clinical Social Work and LGBTQ+ Issues
Email: dean.roper@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor of Practice, School of Social Work | Adjunct Professor, Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies
Alicia Rita Rueda-Acedo, Ph.D. University of California, Santa Barbara
Areas of Specialty: Literary Journalism, Contemporary Transatlantic Literature (Mexico and Spain), Hispanic Women Authors, Community Translation
Email: aliciarueda@uta.edu
Title(s): Associate Professor, Department of Modern Languages
Beth Anne Shelton, Ph.D. University of Texas at Austin
Areas of Specialty: Gender, Work, Family
Email: shelton@uta.edu
Title(s): Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Michael F. TenEyck, Ph.D. University of Cincinnati
Areas of Specialty: Drugs and Crime; Criminological Theory; Gendered Pathways into Delinquency; Developmental and Life Course Criminology
Email: michael.teneyck@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Amy L. Tigner, Ph.D. Stanford University
Areas of Specialty: Early Modern Women's Writing, Food Studies, Shakespeare
Email: atigner@uta.edu
Title(s): Associate Professor, Department of English
Mary Vaccaro, Ph.D. Columbia University
Areas of Specialty: Women as Patrons of Art, Rhetoric of Female Beauty
Email: vaccaro@uta.edu
Title(s): Distinguished Professor, Department of Art and Art History
Natalia Trigo-Acuña, Ph.D. University of Houston
Areas of Specialty: Border Studies, Immigration Literature, and Speculative Fiction
Email: natalia.trigo@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor, Department of Modern Languages | Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Advisory Board
Ashish K. Sedai, Ph.D. Colorado State University
Areas of Specialty: Informal Finance, Electrification, Water, and Their Impact on Women's Economic Freedom, Marginalization, and Autonomy
Email: ashish.sedai@uta.edu
Title(s): Assistant Professor, Department of Economics