UHCL educator honored with diversity award

April 14, 2017 | Crystal Sauceda

University of Houston-Clear Lake Assistant Professor of Psychology and Women’s Studies Desdamona Rios was awarded the 2017 Hayes Diversity Award by UHCL’s Office of Student Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which established the award in 2014.

The award was named after its first recipient, former Senior Vice President and Provost and Professor of Counseling Edward J. Hayes.

Past winners of the award include former UHCL Associate Professor of Sociology Craig Oettinger and Professor of Bilingual and Multicultural Education Judith Márquez.

“This award is to honor those who have demonstrated commitment, support, leadership and expertise around the diversity conversation,” said Linda Bullock, assistant dean of student diversity.

To be nominated, the faculty or staff member must have worked at UHCL for at least two semesters. Recipients are those who have shown leadership and are dedicated to maintaining diversity and inclusion on campus. The recipient must be an advocate for underrepresented students.

Rios said she feels humbled to be a recipient of the award. “I don’t feel worthy, really, considering the incredible work Drs. Oettinger and Márquez have done over the span of their careers,” Rios said. “I’m still considered an ‘early career’ scholar, so I feel especially grateful that others appreciate the work I’ve done so far. As for Dr. Hayes, I’ve heard from so many how beloved he was. … So these are all big shoes to fill. Considering the bigger picture, none of us can do this work alone and I am grateful to my generous, kind, and visionary peers/colleagues, students, community partners, friends and family for building a movement together.”

Rios keeps busy by working on projects such as: examining the role of culturally relevant curriculum in academic identity development among Hispanic-American high school students, and narrative identity among diverse groups of gay, bisexual and queer college men.

Rios teaches social psychology, theories of personality and psychology of women at the undergraduate level. At the graduate level, she teaches advanced social psychology and psychology of gender, race and sexuality.

She is also a consulting editor for Psychology of Women Quarterly and has published work on her pedagogical practices, including the importance of making visible the accomplishments of marginalized groups across course curricula.

The Diversity Council Committee asks faculty, staff and some student organizations for nominations each year. Rios won the award this year because of these nominations.

“Dr. Rios’ dedication to a broad diversity of students including first generation, LGBT, women and all marginalized students was noted,” Bullock said. “Additionally, she is respected for her research across the United States, is published in numerous publications and is often invited to speak at conferences that focus on student success.”

Bullock said Rios’ work outside the classroom is another reason why she was nominated. “She advocates and supports faculty and women leaders across education and political arenas and has been recognized nationally for her work,” Bullock said.  “She was awarded the Faculty Research Fund to support her research of culturally relevant curriculum with Latino students in collaboration with a local high school.  Dr. Rios serves as a mentor not only for our undergraduate and graduate students but also for high school students through her research project.”

(This article first appeared in UHCL's student publication The Signal. It is reprinted with permission.)