Stanislaus State’s Community Equity Research Center (CERC) announced its first cohort of faculty and graduate fellows for the 2021-2022 academic year.
CERC will assist faculty members and students as they engage in participatory action research that will support and inform efforts to replace patterns of inequitable conditions and outcomes in our communities.
2021-2022 CERC Faculty and Graduate Fellows
Dr. Devon Graves is an assistant professor in the Educational Leadership Doctoral Program studying how race and racism influences higher education.
Project Summary: Dr. Graves will study the impacts of FAFSA graduation requirements for high school seniors and how the Stockton Campus can support schools with implementation of this new policy.
Dr. Mary Roaf is an assistant professor of ethnic studies. Teaching all over the country as a K-12 and university educator has instilled her with a commitment to ensure that all peoples fully benefit from educational, professional and personal opportunities.
Project Summary: Dr. Roaf’s project will focus on strengthening community-based, university and social supports to improve the success of students from all racial, gender, immigrant and socioeconomic backgrounds as they transition to college.
Dr. May Ying Ly is an assistant professor of social work. She is an advocate for Hmong women and girls locally and internationally. She has extensive experience with nonprofit organizations serving the immigrant and refugee population.
Project Summary: Dr. Ly will be conducting a community-based participatory research project on how traditional leaders in the Hmong community can impact the safety of intimate partner violence victims in the Central Valley.
Dr. Steven Drouin is an associate professor in the department of Advanced Studies in Education. He identifies as a teacher-scholar who views his classrooms as laboratories of democracy, where students share, learn and collaborate to better understand topics such as research methods, multilingual and multicultural education.
Project Summary: His research interests center on two issues of critical importance to the Central Valley: multicultural pedagogy and the experiences of first-generation graduate students. He believes that teaching, scholarship and service are all means toward ending systemic oppression and supporting the needs of diverse groups of students and community members.
Kou Her is a doctoral student in educational leadership. He works full-time as a counselor at Merced High School and part-time an adjunct counselor at Merced College.
Project Summary: Kou’s research is on the educational, family and community factors that influence second-generation Hmong men to attend college.
Kate Hey is a doctoral student in educational leadership. She works full-time as an English language instructor at Modesto Junior College.
Project Summary: Kate’s project examines the lived experiences of Afghan female refugee students. She seeks to understand their motivations for pursuing higher education and the community college challenges and support services they experience.