Heidi Barajas
Associate dean for outreach and community engagement, and associate professor

Heidi L. Barajas is an associate professor in the Department of Postsecondary Teaching and Learning. She received her B.A. in Spanish and education, and a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Utah. She received a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Minnesota as a National Science Foundation Fellow. In addition to her work in PSTL, Dr. Barajas is an affiliate with the Department of Organizational Learning, Policy, and Development.

Currently, I serve as the associate dean for outreach and community engagement in CEHD. Much of my time is spent helping to create and operationalize a new college structure as well as handle the day-to-day operations. My primary goal as the associate dean for outreach and community engagement is to support the integration of community engagement into research and teaching in new and meaningful ways. This includes thoughtful and intentional relationships with the various communities with whom we work as well as developing new models for research that will address large social issues in our local, national and global world.

My scholarly work focuses on institutional issues surrounding access and equity. My most recent work includes with co-author Amy Ronnkivist, “Racialized Space: Framing Latino and Latina Experience in Public Schools” published in Teachers College Record. This article examines challenges students of color face in the public school because of an underlying assumption that public schools are race neutral, or color-blind spaces. The data collected on Latino and Latina school experiences indicated that organizational spaces were racialized; that is, taken-for-granted notions of race mediated the relationship between the school and the actors that comprised it. Another recent publication with co-author Jeanne Higbee, “Building effective places for multicultural learning” published in About Campus considers how Universal Instructional Design may increase higher education’s capacity to support all student learning.

I also integrate research into my teaching practice and community engagement. My classes participate in civic engagement through service learning. I believe there is no better way to provide students with the opportunity to actually learn how to be productive and involved citizens in a quickly changing demographic America. Personal observation and participation in the real world through service learning not only enhances the rigorous academic material presented in a course, but also is matchless as a tool to achieve mastery and application of course material.

I am fortunate to be connected with many community organizations. One of my most prized relationships is as a board member of Hope Community, Inc., with whom I have created a partnership for research on this unique organizational model. All of my research, teaching, and community involvement are a reflection of my life as a mother of 4 outstanding children and 2 equally outstanding grandchildren.

Curriculum vitae