Faculty

Dr. H. Kenny Nienhusser

Dr. H. Kenny Nienhusser headshot

Associate Professor

Program Coordinator, HESA

Gentry 240B
As a first-generation Latinx college student of immigrant parents, diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of Dr. Nienhusser’s work as a researcher, teacher, advisor, and scholar-citizen. His research examines the origins of public policies and their implementation environments that affect the postsecondary education access of minoritized youth and the experiences of minoritized youth (and their families) as they navigate higher education access barriers. Most of his scholarship has investigated the public policy landscape and experiences of undocumented immigrant youth. Kenny also serves as Faculty Director of La Comunidad Intelectual, a living-learning community on campus. Dr. Nienhusser has an EdD in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, an MSW in Social Work, and a BA in Economics, the latter two from Stony Brook University. Kenny has over 15 years of full-time professional practice working in different types of higher education institutions (i.e., private non-profit and public) and diverse functional areas (i.e., residence life, housing administration, academic affairs). In his spare time Kenny enjoys spending time with his family and practicing photography.

Dr. Saran Stewart

Saran Steward headshot

Associate Professor
Global Education Director, Neag

Gentry 240D
Dr. Stewart currently teaches courses related to college student development theory, inclusion and equity in higher education and student affairs as well as transformational leadership. In the past, she has taught comparative higher education, organization and administration, resource management and research methods courses. She was formerly a Senior Lecturer and Deputy Dean at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica.  Dr. Stewart’s research examines issues in comparative education, decolonizing methodologies, critical/ inclusive pedagogy and access and equity issues in higher education. She is a Salzburg Global Fellow and the recipient of multiple awards including the 2019 Vice Chancellor Award for Excellence from the University of the West Indies and the 2018 African Diaspora Emerging Scholar award by the Comparative and International Education Society. She is editor of Decolonizing Qualitative Methodologies for and by the Caribbean (Information Age Publishing) and co-editor of, Race, Equity and the Learning Environment: The Global Relevance of Critical and Inclusive Pedagogies in Higher Education (Stylus). Most recently she co-edited and co-authored a special issue in the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education titled, Black Deprivation, Black Resistance and Black Liberation: The Influence of #BlackLivesMatter (BLM) on Higher Education. She was also the co-author of the article, Transforming The Classroom At Traditionally White Institutions To Make Black Lives Matter. When not in the classroom, Dr. Stewart can be found planning her next adventure, satisfying her love for traveling and dancing with her 2 daughters around the globe.

Dr. Adam M. McCready

Adam McCready headshot

Assistant Professor
in Residence

adam.mccready@uconn.edu
Gentry 240E

Dr. McCready’s research examines the college student experience with the intent of identifying and challenging oppressive structures in higher education. He has studied the masculine norm climates of college social fraternities, college men and masculinities, and the encounters of students of color with racial hostilities on social media. Prior to his faculty career, Adam worked as a student affairs educator for more than a decade. He has professional experience in residential life, student activities, fraternity and sorority life, and assessment. In 2014, he received the MIT Infinite Mile for Student Life Award, the Institute’s highest honor for student affairs professionals. Adam is originally from Baltimore, MD. He earned a B.S. in Environmental Studies from the George Washington University, and an M.A. in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University. He is active in ACPA - College Student Educators International, and serves as the Vice Chair of Scholar and Research for the APA Coalition on Men and Masculinities. He is also a member of NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, and the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors (AFA). He serves as the Associate Editor of The Oracle: The Research Journal of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors.

Dr. Milagros Castillo-MontoyaDr. Milagros Castillo-Montoya headshot

Associate
Professor

Gentry 240A
Dr. Castillo-Montoya is a first-generation scholar who studies Black and Latinx students’ learning and critical consciousness, critical and equitable pedagogy, and equity in higher education teaching and learning. She previously worked in student affairs administration and academic affairs. In the HESA program, Milagros teaches Structured Dialogues in Student Affairs and Social Justice Leadership, Equity & School Change. In addition, she currently serves as the Faculty Fellow for the UConn Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Dr. Franklin A. Tuitt

Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer
Professor, HESA

franklin.tuitt@uconn.edu
Budds Building 311

Dr. Tuitt, who has more than two decades of higher education administration experience, joined UConn in July 2020 as the Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer and Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs. Dr. Tuitt has made a significant impact on research and practice related to diversity and inclusion in the field of higher education. In 2019, he received the National Association of Chief Diversity Officers in Higher Education Individual Leadership Award in recognition of “outstanding contributions to research, administration, practice, advocacy, and/or policy, and whose work informs and advances understanding of diversity and inclusive excellence in higher education. Prior to joining UConn, Dr. Tuitt was a member of the University of Denver faculty since 2004 and was that school’s Chief Diversity Officer from 2015-19. He was most recently a visiting scholar at the Echo Center for Diversity Policy at The Hague, Netherlands.

Graduate Assistants

Ashley N. Robinson

Ashley Robinson Headshot

Ph.D. Candidate, Leadership & Education Policy

Ashley teaches in the HESA program, works closely with HESA students on research and helps coordinate programming and communications. As a Ph.D. candidate in Leadership and Education Policy, Ashley’s research focuses on equity and justice in student affairs and higher education policy and practice. As a former residential education practitioner and a current organized labor activist, Ashley incorporates a scholar-practitioner-activist perspective into her work. Her research interests include institutional responses to incidents of racial harm, how student affairs policies and practices uphold and perpetuate oppressive systems, the experiences of frontline higher education workers, and critical and feminist qualitative methodologies. Ashley is originally from East Providence, RI, and has called UConn and Storrs home since 2012. She holds a B.A. in English and an M.Ed. in College Student Development from the University of Maine. Ashley is proud to be the Vice President of the GEU-UAW Local 6950 and an active member of ACPA-College Student Educators International. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, gardening, and reveling in the antics of her two rescue dogs with her husband.

Yasmin Elgoharry

Ph.D. Student, Leadership & Education Policy

yasmin.elgoharry@uconn.edu

Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Yasmin grew up on the East Coast. Yasmin is a first-generation scholar, who graduated from Central Connecticut State University with a B.A. in Communication and a minor in Journalism. Yasmin has also earned an M.S. degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Rochester. During her graduate journey, Yasmin worked with TRIO programs, Undergraduate and Business Graduate Admissions, Greek and Residential Life, Multicultural Student Affairs, and international students. Prior to pursuing her Ph.D. at UConn, Yasmin worked at Indiana University- Bloomington (IU) as a full-time Career Coach, Adjunct Faculty, and a Faculty Advisor for the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) IU chapter, where she pioneered the inclusion of Black Voices section  within the Indiana Daily Student newspaper (operating since 1867). During her time at IU, she served on the campus-wide DEI Career Services committee, and as the Co-chair for the Hire Big10+ Consortium Leadership & Development Knowledge Community. Yasmin is committed to initiatives that focus on equity, justice, diversity and inclusion throughout college and the local community. Yasmin’s research interests include but are not limited to intersectionality; international comparative education; and the role of higher education in developing civically engaged and culturally competent students.