Supportive Faculty and Staff

Resources

All faculty and staff at SMU are committed to student success; however, some have taken extra steps to show their support to first-generation college students in particular.

The faculty and staff list below contains members of the SMU community who have committed to support first-generation college students beyond what is required in their roles. They are either first-generation college students themselves or have chosen to support this population. If you see the First-Gen Proud sticker displayed on campus, the individual has committed to guide you along your college journey.

Reach out for support. We're expecting you during both the good and not-so-great times.

How to join

al · ly
noun; plural noun: allies
a person or group that is associated with another or others for some common cause or purpose

verb
to associate, connect, or unite

Faculty and staff make a commitment to support first-generation students at SMU by agreeing to program expectations and completing the webform below. After registration, they will receive a First-Gen Proud sticker in campus mail to display in the campus office.

First-Gen Proud Allies Registration

Faculty & Staff allies

First-Gen Proud allies are faculty and staff from around the university that understand the challenges you may be facing, many were first-generation students themselves, and are willing to help you through whatever it is you have questions about. Be sure to point out that you found their contact information on the First-Gen Proud page.

Photo	Name	Pronouns	SMU Email	First-Generation Status	Department and Title
	Tiffany McCray	-	tmccray@smu.edu	-	Lecturer of American Sign Language
	Yajaira Diaz	she/her/hers	ydiaz@smu.edu	-	Assistant Director of Career Development, Hegi Family Career Development Center, Student Affairs
	JB Georges	he/him/his	jgeorges@mail.smu.edu	Yes	Dedman College Director of Academic Services and Co-Diversity Officer
	Danielle Palomo	she/her/hers	dpalomo@mail.smu.edu	Yes	Coordinator, Community Engagement, Social Change and Intercultural Engagement Office
	Susan Harris	she/her/hers	sharris@mail.smu.edu	-	Director of Prelaw and Honors Advising
	Lorene Sugars	she/her/hers	lsugars@mail.smu.edu	-	Coordinator of SMU-in-Taos
	Kelly Garcia	-	kellyg@mail.smu.edu	Yes	Assistant Director, International Student and Scholar Services
	Christina Churchill	-	cchurchill@mail.smu.edu	Yes	Director of Online and Distance Education, Lyle School of Engineering
	Melissa Hernandez Probus	she/her/hers	mhernandezprobus@mail.smu.edu	Yes	Associate Director Course of Study; CASA Program, Perkins School of Theology
	ShyAnte'e Williams	she/her/hers	shyanteew@mail.smu.edu	Yes	Coordinator in Student Center and Activities for Hughes Trigg Student Center )
	Laura Shwarts	she/her/hers	lshwarts@mail.smu.edu	-	Student Advocacy and Support, Division of Student Affairs
	Taylor Johnson	she/her/hers	wyoupa@mail.smu.edu	-	Research Coordinator, CORE, Simmons
Photo	Name	Pronouns	SMU Email	First-Generation Status	Department and Title
	Abigail Pruitt	-	abigail@smu.edu	-	Clinical Professor
	Adam Neal	he/him/his	asneal@mail.smu.edu	-	Assistant Director, Office of Engaged Learning
	Adriana Aceves	-	acevesa@smu.edu	-	Department of Mathematics, Senior Lecturer
	Alan Humason	-	ahumason@smu.edu	Yes	Laboratory Coordinator II
	Alberto Pastor	he/him/his	apastor@smu.edu	Yes	Associate professor of Spanish and General Linguistcs
	Alida Liberman	-	aliberman@smu.edu	Yes	Associate Professor of Philosophy
	Alyssa Reiman	she/her/hers	areiman@mail.smu.edu	-	Academic Advisor, University Advising Center
	Annette Owen	she/her/hers	annetteo@smu.edu	Yes	Coordinator, Baptist House of Studies, Perkins School of Theology
	Aria Cabot	-	acabot@smu.edu	-	World Languages, Teaching and Technology Center Director
	Becca Umobong	-	rebecca@smu.edu	-	Director, Academic Skill Development
	Beth Newman	-	bnewman@smu.edu	Yes	Associate Professor (English)
	Bonnie Hainline	she/her/hers	bhainline@smu.edu	Yes	Director, Campus Recreation, Division of Student Affairs
	Brooke Guelker	-	bguelker@smu.edu	Yes	Office of the Associate Provost, Executive Assistant
	Burke Jam	-	bjam@smu.edu	Yes	Creative Computation, Adjunct Lecturer
	Caitlin Anderson	she/her/hers	caitlina@mail.smu.edu	-	Senior Lecturer, Applied Physiology and Sport Management; Director, Hilltop Scholars Program
	Chris Meyers	-	cmeyers@smu.edu	-	Director, First-Generation Initiative
	Dallas Gingles	-	dgingles@smu.edu	Yes	Perkins School of Theology, Assistant Dean of Hybrid Education and Associate Professor of Practice in Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics
	Daniele Forlino	he/him/his	dforlino@smu.edu	Yes	WL, Lecturer of Italian
	Dave Morrin	he/him/his	dmorrin@smu.edu	Yes	Regional Director of Undergraduate Admission for Florida, Georgia, and Alabama
	Dayna Oscherwitz	-	oscherwi@smu.edu	Yes	Professor, French; Assoc. Provost for Institutional Planning & Effectiveness
	Dustin Grabsch	he/him/his	dgrabsch@smu.edu	Yes	Assist. Provost of Undergraduate Education & Academic Success
	Gary Alan Evans	-	gae@smu.edu	Yes	Electrical and Computer Engineering, Professor
	Gianna Englert	-	genglert@mail.smu.edu	-	Assistant Professor, Political Science, Dedman College
	Hannah Park Lee	she/her/hers	hpark@smu.edu	-	Honors & Scholars Program Specialist, Office of the Provost
	Heather Gottas Moore	she/her/hers/herself	hgottas@smu.edu	yes	Assistant Director of Lifelong Learning, Office of External Programs, Perkins School of Theology
	Hiroki Takeuchi	he/him/his	htakeuch@smu.edu	-	Associate Professor, Political Science, Dedman College
	Ivy Phillips	she/they/them	zzphillips@smu.edu	Yes	Success Counselor, Office of Student Success and Retention
	Jacob Trevino	he/him/his	trevinojj@smu.edu	Yes	Academic Advisor, University Advising Center, Student Academic Engagment and Success
	Jennifer Dworak	-	jdworak@smu.edu	-
	Jennifer Gomez	she/her/hers	jlgomez@smu.edu	Yes	Senior Financial Literacy Specialist, Bursar
	Jennifer Malone	she/her/hers	jemalone@mail.smu.edu	-	Senior Academic Advisor, Cox
	Jessica Martinez	-	jnmartinez@smu.edu	Yes	SMU Abroad Advisor
	Jessica Wickersham	-	jwickersham@smu.edu	Yes	Statistical Science, Visiting Lecturer
	Jill Kelly	-	jillk@smu.edu	-	Associate Professor and Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor (History)
	Joan Arbery	-	jarbery@smu.edu	-	WRTR/UHP Lecturer

	Joseph Kobylka	he/him/his	jkobylka@smu.edu	-	Chair, Department of Political Science
	Josephine Caldwell-Ryan	-	jcryan@mail.smu.edu	-	Director, Women's and Gender Studies Program
	Joshua Beaty	he/him/his	jbeaty@mail.smu.edu	-	Associate Director, University Advising Center
	Karisa Cloward	she/her/hers	kcloward@smu.edu	-	Associate Professor, Political Science; Director, Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute
	Kathleen Gaskins	she/her/hers	kgaskins@smu.edu	-	Education Abroad Coordinator
	Kathy Hubbard	-	khubbard@smu.edu	-	Assistant Dean, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
	K.C. Mmeje	he/him/his	kmmeje@smu.edu	Yes	Vice President of Student Affairs
	Kelyn Rola	she/her/hers	krola@smu.edu	-	Research Professor, Caruth Institute for Engineering Education, Lyle School of Engineering
	Kolin Goldschmidt	he/him/his	kgoldschmidt@smu.edu	Yes	Program Coordinator, Office of Student Success and Retention, Student Academic Engagement and Success
	Kristina Nielsen	-	kfnielsen@smu.edu	-	Assistant Professor of Musicology
	LaiYee Leong	-	lleong@smu.edu	-	Political Science (Senior Fellow and Lecturer)
	Linda Parker	-	lcparker@smu.edu	Yes	Director, Hart Center for Engineering Leadership
	Maira Meki	-	maira@smu.edu	Yes	Cox - Associate Director of Specialized Master's Admissions
	Maria del Pilar Melgarejo	-	mmelgarejoac@smu.edu	-	Lecturer of Spanish
	Mark Kerins	he/him/his	mkerins@smu.edu	-	Professor, Film & Media Arts
	Matt Nadler	he/him/his	mnadler@smu.edu	-	Assistant Director of Employer Relations, Hegi Family Career Development Center, Student Affairs
	Maxime Foerster	he/him/his	mfoerster@smu.edu	-	Associate Professor (French)
	Misti Compton	-	mcompton@smu.edu	Yes	Director of Undergraduate Advising and Student Records, Lyle
	Monnie McGee	-	mmcgee@smu.edu	-	Associate Professor of Statistical Science
	Noemi Vega Quiñones	-	nvegaquinones@smu.edu		Graduate Program in Religious Studies - Ph.D. Student in Ethics
	Olga Colbert	she/her/hers	olvalero@mail.smu.edu	Yes	Associate Professor, Spanish, World Languages, Dedman College
	Peng Tao	-	ptao@mail.smu.edu	-	Associate Professor, Chemistry; Director of Biophysical Sciences for Bachelor Degree, Dedman College
	Phillip Bax	-	pbax@mail.smu.edu	-	English PhD Student and WRTR Instructor
	Pia Vogel	-	pvogel@smu.edu	Yes	Biological Sciences, Professor
	Prisna Virasin	she/her/hers	pvirasin@smu.edu	Yes	Achievement Advisor
	Rachel Ball-Phillips	-	rmball@smu.edu	Yes	Lecturer, History; Dir. of Graduate Fellowships & Awards, Moody School
	Rita Economos	-	reconomos@smu.edu	Yes	Earth Sciences, Assistant Professor
	Sarah Cartwright	-	smcartwright@smu.edu	-	Learning Skills Specialist, Academic Skill Development
	Seth Orsborn	-	sorsborn@smu.edu	-	Director of Deason Innovation Gym
	Sheri Kunovich	she/her/hers	kunovich@smu.edu	Yes	Sociology, Associate Provost
	Shon Phillips	-	shonphillips@smu.edu	Yes	WRTR Lecturer/Writing Center Coordinator
	Sue Bierman	she/her/hers	sbierman@smu.edu	-	Executive Director of Student Academic Success Programs
	Susan Norman	-	snorman@smu.edu	Yes	Writing and Reasoning/Hilltop Scholars-- Lecturer