Center for Success of Women Faculty

What is your current job title and responsibilities (please make sure we know your College, Department, etc.)?
Associate Professor, History Department, College of Arts and Humanities

What is your history at UCF and before UCF? (past job titles, responsibilities)
I’ve been working at UCF since 2010. Before coming to UCF, I was a professor of history in a small liberal arts college in New England. And before that I was completing my dissertation thesis while living in Argentina and Chicago.

What is your academic background?
I received my doctorate in history from UCLA where I was trained as an interdisciplinary historian. I took graduate courses in history, economics, and sociology. I apply what I learned from these disciplines, blending archival, quantitative, and ethnographic methods to the study of Argentine technological and industrial history.

What is your favorite UCF memory?
During my first week here, I enjoyed walking around, taking in the bigness of UCF’s physical space and the diversity of its students.

If you could change one thing at UCF, what would it be? ($ and time no object)
Implementing an equitable distribution of salary income. Reward faculty for their scholarship and teaching based on merit, and not on binders. BAN the binder culture. Also, I would like it if UCF could make it easier for faculty to connect across disciplines, departments, and colleges in small settings. Along with making it easier to have more cross-listed courses and co-teaching opportunities.

Who at UCF would you like to thank for your success?
During my first two years, I had wonderful mentoring from Melody Bowdon and Rosalind Beiler about how to maneuver at UCF. Since then, I have expanded my mentoring and networking circles, and have appreciated the friendships and camaraderie of many women on this campus.

Name and describe a teacher or researcher from your past who truly inspired you and why.
I’ve had many fantastic teachers that have inspired me to become more interdisciplinary in my research and teaching methods. My favorite teachers were always the ones that came into the classroom looking like they just stepped off the bus: frazzled and out of breath. But within a minute, they became dynamic lecturers. They lectured but also took pauses to ask the students questions, play music, or allow us to ponder what was he/she had just said. They also assigned field exercises where you had to become a junior historian or sociologist, and talk to live people about their experiences. If I must thank individuals, I would thank Dr. Janice Reiff, Professor of History at UCLA and Dr. Les Howard, Professor of Sociology at Whittier College for forcing me out of my comfort zone and assigning field exercises.

What is your favorite restaurant or food?
Sushi or Indian

What is your favorite movie, book or music?
It’s hard to pick a few, but for music Smiths and M.I.A.
Novels that stayed with me, Charles Dickens, Tale of Two Cities and Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita
My favorite directors are Danny Boyle and Gus van Sant

What is your favorite vacation destination?
Anywhere cold. Some of my favorites were Prague in February and Berlin in December. My dream vacation would be to experience the glaciers of Patagonia or Antarctica. (I should go before it all melts).

If UCF was going to name something in your honor, what would you like it to be and why?
I would like them to name a 4D CAVE after me because it can be programmed to help people experience the life of others.