Recently Tenured Faculty

The Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity congratulates the following University of Washington faculty of color who are newly tenured with promotion to associate professor:

Rachel Chapman

Rachel Chapman is an associate professor in anthropology and an adjunct professor in the Department of Global Health. She received her Ph.D. and master’s degree in anthropology from UCLA after attending Yale University where she earned a bachelor of arts in literature and a master’s in African studies. Dr. Chapman’s research interests include the political economy of prenatal care and reproductive health management, racial/ethnic disparities in health, women and AIDS treatment in the African Diaspora and the intersection of race, class and gender in ethnic identity.

Frances Contreras

Frances Contreras is an associate professor in the College of Education and focuses her research on issues of equity and access for underrepresented students in the education system. Dr. Contreras received her Ph.D. from Stanford University, her master’s in education from Harvard University and a bachelor of arts from the University of California at Berkeley. She also serves on the boards of the Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy, LEAP and the ACLU of Washington. Dr. Contreras co-authored the book, The Latino Education Crisis: The Consequences of Failed Social Policies, published in 2009.

María Elena García

María Elena García is an associate professor in the Comparative History of Ideas program. A member of the UW faculty since 2008, Dr. García received a bachelor of arts with honors at William and Mary before going on to earn both a master’s and Ph.D. in anthropology from Brown University. Her book, Making Indigenous Citizens: Identities, Development and Multicultural Activism, was published in 2005. Also the director of the Clowes Center for the Study of Conflict and Dialogue, Dr. Garcia’s work focuses on indigenous intellectual production and human-animal articulations.

Jose Antonio Lucero

Jose Antonio Lucero has been a UW faculty member since 2008 and is an associate professor in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. He received his Ph.D. and master’s degree in politics from Princeton University. Dr. Lucero earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Stanford. Last year he received the Simpson Center for the Humanities (UW) Research Cluster and the Jackson School Student Service awards.

Christopher Parker

Christopher Parker is an associate professor and Stuart A. Scheingold Professor of Social Justice and Political Science in the Department of Political Science. Dr. Parker has been on the faculty at UW since 2006. He holds both a Ph.D. and master’s degree in political science from the University of Chicago, after earning a bachelor of arts degree in political science with honors from UCLA. His book entitled, Fighting for Democracy: Black Veterans and the Struggle Against White Supremacy in the Postwar South, was published in 2009.

Manka Varghese

Manka Varghese is an associate professor of curriculum and instruction in the College of Education and has been a member of the UW faculty since 2004. Dr. Varghese received a Ph.D. in educational linguistics and a master’s of science in education from the University of Pennsylvania after doing her undergraduate work at Bristol University in England, where she earned a bachelor of arts in English literature. Her research and scholarly work focuses on understanding and improving schooling for immigrants, English language learners and underrepresented groups in the U.S. and abroad.