Alejandro Meter, PhD, teaches courses on Latin American literature of the twentieth and twentieth-first centuries. His specializations include dictatorial and post-dictatorial fiction of the Southern Cone, migration and exile, and Latin American Jewish studies. His most recent research focuses on memory, trauma, and reconciliation. He currently directs the intersession Buenos Aires Program. He was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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Michelle Madsen Camacho is Chair and Full Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of San Diego.  She formerly held two postdoctoral fellowships at the University of California, San Diego, at the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies and in the Department of Ethnic Studies. Fluent in both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, her research uses theories from interdisciplinary sources including cultural studies, critical race, gender and feminist theories. Central to her work are questions of culture, power and inequality. She is affiliated faculty with the Department of Ethnic Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, and Latin American Studies.

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Stephen Conroy joined the faculty of USD in the fall of 2004 as an associate professor of Economics after spending five years at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. Professor Conroy has received several research and teaching awards, including the Outstanding Undergraduate Business Educator Award (2007), Teaching Incentive Program (TIP) Award (2004), Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and Advising Award (2003) and the Dyson Faculty Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarly Activity (2002 and 2004). 

In addition to his academic scholarship, Professor Conroy has also participated in a number of economic consulting projects for clients in the private and public sectors, especially in the area of economic base analysis and, more recently, in valuation of nonmarket assets. Professor Conroy has several years of business experience in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, including positions with Hallmark Cards, Inc. (inventory controller), Catholic Charities of Los Angeles (outreach specialist/coordinator), El Centro del Pueblo of Los Angeles (emergency services caseworker) and Jovenes, Inc., a nonprofit organization serving homeless youth in Los Angeles.

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Alana Cordy-Collins, PhD, joined the USD faculty in 1980.  She is a professor of Anthropology and director of the David W. May American Indian Collection and Gallery. In the Department of Anthropology, Cordy-Collins offers undergraduate courses in archaeology, shamanism, research, writing, and museology.  Her research focus is the prehistoric cultures of Peru, especially the Lambayeque, Moche, and Chavín-Cupisnique. She is currently most involved in comparative studies of shamanism, especially among Circum-Polar peoples, prehistoric and contemporary. Dr. Cordy-Collins has been awarded two USD University Professorships, one research-based and the other recognition-based.  She designed and organized the university’s American Indian Celebration (2002-2004).

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Evelyn Diaz Cruz is an Associate Professor of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies with experience in writing, directing, and acting. Originally from the Bronx, New York, Professor Cruz's study and practice of theatre is focused on empowering communities by addressing issues of social justice through art. Her non-traditional approach to theatre garnered her the KPBS 2008 Hispanic Heritage Month Local Hero Award for her contributions to the San Diego community. She is the recipient of USD's 2009 Innovations in Experiential Education Award. She is a member of the Los Angeles Association of Playwrights and the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture.

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Esteban del Río is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of San Diego and currently serves as the Associate Provost for Inclusion and Diversity and Director of the Center of Inclusion and Diversity. He earned a PhD in the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, working in the area of media and cultural studies. del Río teaches Introduction to Media Studies, Media & Conflict, and International Media.

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Emily Edmonds-Poli , PhD, joined the USD faculty in 2001.  Edmonds-Poli teaches classes on international relations and Latin American politics. Her research focuses on local and state level politics in Mexico, as well as decentralization and democratization in Latin America.

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Kim Eherenman, PhD, has been a member of the faculty since 1990. Her specializations include Latin American poetry, pre-Columbian literatures and cultures, colonial and nineteenth century Latin American literature, and Mexican literature. Her research focus is Latin American poetry and translation. Formerly, she served as coordinator of the Latino Studies Program, executive director of the Guadalajara Summer Program, coordinator of the Spanish Area, and chair of this department. In addition, she has served as an external program reviewer for world language and literature programs at the university level. She is also a bilingual poet whose works have appeared in literary journals nationally and abroad.

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Iris H. W. Engstrand, PhD, is a native Californian. Engstrand’s academic honors include USD’s distinguished University Professorship; the Davies Award for Faculty Achievement; Awards of Merit from the San Diego, Southern California, and California Historical Societies, Western History Association, and Orange Coast College; fellowships from the Fulbright Commission, American Philosophical Society and Huntington Library; and the California Design Award in Historic Preservation. She is a trustee of the San Diego Natural History Museum and the San Diego Maritime Museum, past president of the American Historical Association Pacific Coast Branch and of the Western History Association. Engstrand has lived and traveled extensively in Spain and Mexico and lectures widely in both English and Spanish. She has degrees in history, with maors and minors in the fields of California, Mexico, Latin America and the Spanish Southwest history, biology and Spanish

Engstrand has recently been awarded the prestigious medal of the Order of Isabel la Católica (Isabel the Catholic -- ruler of Spain in 1492) by Juan Carlos, King of Spain, for outstanding contributions to the history of Spain in the Americas.

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Orlando Espín, Th.D., has been a member of the USD faculty since 1991. He is professor of systematic theology in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. Espín has twice served as president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (of which he was one of the founders), and has also served on the boards of directors of the Catholic Theological Society of America and of the Hispanic Summer Program in Religion and Theology. Espín has received an honorary doctorate and an honorary professorship. He founded and was first chief editor of the Journal of Hispanic/Latino Theology. He serves on the editorial boards of several U.S., European and Latin American Journals. He is active in the San Diego Latino/a community, as well as nationally in Latino/a theological research and educational projects.

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Michael Gonzalez, PhD, began teaching at the University of San Diego in 1995.  He currently is director of the History Masters program.

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Kevin Guerrieri, PhD, teaches courses on Latin American literature and culture and on the Spanish language, from beginning to advanced levels. His research is focused on Latin American literature, specializing in Colombian narrative, with interests in cultural discourses of modernity and national formation, displacement and testimonio, and urban literature and culture. Guerrieri is actively involved in Community-Service Learning, is a former co-chair of USD’s Social Issues Committee, and currently serves on the University Senate.

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Before coming to USD, Jerome Hall, PhD, was the underwater archaeologist for Puerto Rico and president of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology.  His current research projects include the excavation of a 17th-century northern European merchant shipwreck off the north coast of the Dominican Republic, as well as the documentation and publication of a 1st-century boat recovered from the Sea of Galilee.

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Julia Medina, Ph. D., joined the USD faculty in 2010. She has taught various courses on Latin American, Latino/a and TransAmerican literatures, cultures and film. She also teaches Spanish language courses of all levels. Professor Medina specializes in 19^th and 20^th century Latin American Literature and Culture as well as in Critical Theory and Cultural Studies.  Her current research focuses on the intersection between visual culture, non-fiction, resistance and intellectual representations in Central America.

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Kristin C. Moran, PhD, joined the Communication Studies department in 1999 as a visiting assistant professor and became a permanent faculty member in 2001. Moran offers courses focused on media studies. Her current research focuses on the reception of Latino-themed and Spanish-language media in the United States. She serves as the university’s representative to the Binational Association of Schools of Communication (BINACOM), an organization devoted to cross border interaction and demystifying stereotypes through ethical communication and she works closely with USD’s Trans-Border Institute. She currently serves as Chair of the department.

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Angelo Orona, PhD, focuses his field research on Creole island fisherman of Venezuela. His main area of interest is the ethnology of South American cultures.

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Gail Perez, PhD, came to the university in 1992 to teach American ethnic literature.  Since that time, she has co-founded the Ethnic Studies major and now has a joint appointment with Ethnic Studies.  She teaches courses in U.S. women of color,  multicultural California, introduction to ethnic studies, and creative writing.  She has advised MEChA, has given the Chicano Graduation Keynote, and has been nominated as a USD Woman of Impact three times.  Her research interests include pedagogy, social space and race, and literature by women of color. In 2013 Perez was awarded the esteemed Davies Award for Teaching Excellence.

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Amanda L. Petersen has been a member of the faculty since 2008. She teaches Spanish language and Latin American literatures and cultures courses. Her areas of expertise include 20th and 21st century Latin American women authors and Latin American literature, with an emphasis on Mexican narrative. Her research interests focus on the literary representations of gender and violence in contemporary Mexican short stories by female authors.

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Alberto López Pulido is Professor and Chair of the Department of Ethnic Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of San Diego. He has held a leadership role as Chair of the President's Advisory Board on Inclusion and Diversity. He teaches both the introductory and advanced courses for the ethnic studies major in addition to specialized courses in Latina/o and Chicana/o Studies. His scholarly interests include the intersection of race and religion in relation to issues of social justice and as strategies for transforming communities. He has also written on the history of ethnic studies in higher education; issues of violence and deportation against immigrants; and is currently at work on a project that explores the power of music in relation to personal identity and biography.

Pulido has published a range of numerous essays in books and journals such as the Journal of Catholic Social Thought; Crosscurrents; Religion and Literature; Journal of Religion and Education; Studies in Twentieth Century Literature; CENTRO: Journal of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies; American Quarterly; Latino Studies Journal. He is the author of the book: Sacred World of the Penitentes and his most recent book is entitled: Moving Beyond Borders: Julian Samora and the Establishment of Latino Studies. Pulido was mentored by the first Mexican American sociologist in the nation, Julian Samora, PhD, who had a distinguished career at the University of Notre Dame.

Alberto is the son of Velia López Pulido and the late Alberto V. Pulido who he credits for instilling within him the value of educación. Such a foundation assisted him profoundly as a first-generation college graduate. He believes deeply that education is a tool that equips students with the wisdom (sabiduría) to transform their lives and the many lives they touch.

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Dr. Reifer serves on the Gender Studies Advisory Committee and is an Associate Fellow at the Transnational Institute, a worldwide fellowship of committed scholar-activists; formerly worked at Focus on the Global South in Asia and was Associate Director of the Institute for Research on World-Systems (IROWS) and the Program on Global Studies at UC Riverside. He is also currently a Research Associate at the Fernand Braudel Center for the Study of Economies, Historical Systems & Civilizations at Binghamton University - where he received his MA & PhD - and IROWS. His specialty is the study of large-scale, long-term social change and world-systems analysis.

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Kenneth P. Serbin, Ph.D., professor and chair in the Department of History, served as vice president, president, and immediate past president of the Brazilian Studies Association (2004-2010).  He also was the co-chair of the Brazil Section of the Latin American Studies Association from 2003-2006.

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David A. Shirk, PhD,  joined the University of San Diego in July 2003. Shirk’s teaching covers a wide range of subject areas, mainly concentrated in comparative politics, international political economy, Latin American studies, and U.S.-Latin American relations, with a concentration in Mexico and border politics. He conducts research on Mexican politics, U.S.-Mexican relations, and law enforcement and security along the U.S.-Mexican border. Shirk also directs the Trans-Border Institute, which works to promote greater analysis and understanding of Mexico, U.S.-Mexico relations, and the U.S.-Mexico border region.

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Leonora Simonovis, PhD, has been a member of the faculty since 2007. She teaches courses on Latin American and Caribbean literature and culture, as well as all levels of Spanish language. Her teaching and research interests deal with issues of race and gender, the role of popular music in the construction of cultural identities, social mobility, and marginality in the Pan-Caribbean region.

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Randy Willoughby, Ph.D, has been on the USD faculty since 1988 and teaches course on comparative politics and international security. His undergraduate education began at the University of California at Irvine and concluded at UCLA. His graduate education was at the University of California at Berkeley, preceded by a year of study in Paris, and including a year working in the Executive Office of the President in Washington DC, a year teaching at the University of Santa Clara, and two years participating on a research project at the University of California at San Diego.

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