Dear College of Education Community,
It is my pleasure to share the news of the College of Education’s faculty members who have recently been appointed to endowed professorships.
An endowed appointment is the highest academic distinction the college bestows on a faculty member, and an enduring tribute to the donor who establishes it. In appointing faculty members to an endowed professorship or chair, we are holding these individuals up to the world as representing our ideals of academic excellence and impact.
I would like to thank the members of the dean’s endowment appointment consultative committee, department chairs, our associate deans, and all college faculty members who submitted nominations as part of our open process. I was overwhelmed with the quality of our extraordinary nominees.
Keffrelyn Brown
Keffrelyn Brown is the Suzanne B. and John L. Adams Professor in Education. Dr. Brown is a Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and holds affiliated faculty appointments in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies, the John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies, and the Center for Women and Gender Studies. Her research focuses on the sociocultural knowledge of race in teaching and curriculum, critical multicultural teacher education, and the educational discourses and intellectual thought related to African Americans and their educational experiences in the U.S.
Mark O’Reilly
Mark O’Reilly is the Melissa Elizabeth Stuart Centennial Professor in Education. Dr. O’Reilly serves as Chair of the Department of Special Education. His research focuses on the functional assessment and treatment of severe challenging behavior and interventions to promote generalization and maintenance of skills for children with autism and developmental disabilities. He has a strong interest in working with culturally diverse populations (particularly protecting and encouraging Indigenous cultures and languages) and examining how behavioral interventions must adapt to be respectful and supportive of diversity. Dr. O’Reilly previously held the Audrey Rogers Myers Centennial Professorship in Education.
Victor Sáenz
Victor Sáenz is the W. K. Kellogg Professor of Community College Leadership. Dr. Sáenz serves as Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy. He also holds affiliated faculty appointments in the Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS), the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, the Irma Rangel Public Policy Institute, and the Institute for Urban Policy Research & Analysis. His current work advances research-informed best practices and policy solutions that improve educational outcomes for underserved students in education, with a special emphasis on boys and young men of color. He is co-founder of Project MALES (Mentoring to Achieve Latino Educational Success), to advance educational outcomes for male students of color.
Hirofumi (Hiro) Tanaka
Hirofumi (Hiro) Tanaka is the Ruth Knight Millikan Centennial Professor. Dr. Tanaka is a Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education. Dr. Tanaka’s research interests revolve around vascular aging that manifests as the hardening of large elastic artery and vascular endothelial dysfunction. His experimental approaches are highly translational, ranging from mechanistic studies in animal models to human clinical investigations to community-based studies in minority health in cardiovascular disease.
Luis Urrieta
Luis Urrieta is the Charles H. Spence, Sr. Centennial Professor in Education. Dr. Urrieta is a Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. He holds affiliatied faculty appointments with the Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS), the Native American & Indigenous Studies Program (NAIS), and the Lozano Long-Benson Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS). Dr. Urrieta’s research interests center around cultural and racial identities; agency as social and cultural practices, social movements and collective action related to education; and learning in family and community contexts. Dr. Urrieta previously held the Suzanne B. and John L. Adams Endowed Professorship in Education.
Please join me in congratulating these esteemed faculty members on being awarded this great distinction.
Sincerely,
Charles
CHARLES R. MARTINEZ, JR | Dean
College of Education | The University of Texas at Austin
