Strengthening scholarly and instructional capacity
Southwest Borderlands Initiative and Scholars
Arizona State University launched the Southwest Borderlands Initiative as a long-term faculty appointment plan with the objective of strengthening scholarly and instructional resources on the Southwest with an emphasis on the region along the United States-Mexico border, and enhancing institutional recruitment and retention that builds a diverse faculty reflective of the Southwest Borderlands and its communities.
Scholar impacts across sectors
The initiative seeks to integrate our strengths in borderlands research with bold innovations in faculty recruitment. Our full selection of faculty offer an expansive range of expertise in industries from health and law to film and politics. Meet the entire selection of faculty.
Donald Fixico
Regents and Distinguished Foundation Professor of History
Fixico is a policy historian and ethnohistorian whose work focuses on American Indians, oral history and the U.S. West. He has published a dozen books and has forthcoming textbooks on American Indian history, territories and the opening of the west.
Magda Hinojosa
Dean, The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Hinojosa's research focuses on the political participation of women in Latin America and in particular, she examines institutional barriers for women. More recently, she assessed the impact of selection procedures on women’s ability to enter politics in Chile and Mexico.
Peter Murrieta
Director, Sidney Poitier New American Film School
Peter is an Emmy award winner who has created shows that serve as a vehicle for Latinx actors that achieve mainstream stardom. His notable works include the acclaimed series, “Greetings from Tucson,” a groundbreaking series first to feature a biracial family set in Arizona.
Vanessa Ruiz
Deputy Vice President for Outreach
Vanessa is a three-time Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist who previously taught on-air skills to Cronkite News students. In her current role, she leads teams who nourish partnerships with K-12 schools, foundations, corporations, and other community stakeholders to advance educational attainment and economic opportunity among Arizona families.
"Through the Southwest Borderlands Initiative at ASU, we are committed to building upon scholarly, instructional, and related institutional assets to aid those needs, particularly in the areas of arts and culture, social and cultural policy, and health among Latinos."
– Nancy Gonzales, Executive Vice President and University Provost
