T. Mark Montoya, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Curriculum & Student Affairs, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences; Associate Professor, Ethnic Studies, Northern Arizona University
T. Mark Montoya, Ph.D. is associate dean for curriculum and student affairs, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, and associate professor, ethnic studies, at Northern Arizona University (NAU). A first-generation college student, Montoya attended New Mexico State University (NMSU), where he received a B.A. in history and an M.A. in government. He moved to Arizona to pursue a Ph.D. in political science at NAU, which he completed with distinction in 2009. Montoya’s scholarship centers broadly on the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, borderlands pedagogy, citizenship, ethnic studies, Latinx studies, DACA, hip hop, and first-generation student experiences. At NAU, Montoya is most involved with the First-generation Learning Community, the Teaching Academy, and the Commission on Ethnic Diversity. He also serves as past-president of the Association for Borderlands Studies, chair of the Northern Arizona Dream Fund, and is on the editorial board for the Journal of First-generation Student Success. His awards include the NAU President's Distinguished Teaching Fellow (2022-2026 term), the “Government Department Star” of the College of Arts and Sciences at NMSU (2020), the Victoria Foundation’s Outstanding Latinx Faculty Service/Teaching in Arizona Higher Education Award (2019), NAU Commencement Speaker for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (2016), NAU College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Teacher of the Year (2015), NAU Outstanding Advocate Award for First-Generation College Students (2013), and the NAU President’s Award for Ethnic Diversity (2012). He is most grateful for his partner Katy and to their dog Maya.
Speaker Travels From
Arizona
T. Mark is available for in-person and virtual engagements! Contact us today.
Speaker Topics
| Latinx and First-gen
The presenter will draw attention to Latinx identities and their intersections with first-generation student identities. | First-gen as borderlands
The presenter will draw attention to the border-crossing experiences of first-generation students and the many borderlands that inform their journeys. |
|---|---|
| Race/ism and First-gen
The presenter will draw attention to race/ethnicity and the racism many first-generation students face. | First-gen through Hip Hop Pedagogy
The presenter will draw attention to Hip Hop Pedagogy that inform the experiences of first-generation students. |
Books, News, & Media
Book Chapters & Scholarly Articles
Montoya, T.M. (Forthcoming). Reclaiming the Borderlands: Testimonio and Counter-Narratives as Borderlands Pedagogy. In A. Bissonnette and E. Vallet (Eds.), Walled: The US-Mexico Border Walls at and beyond the Border. University of Arizona Press.
Montoya, T.M. (Forthcoming). Academic Border-Crossings: Ladders for First-Generation Student Success. In L. Windsor and K.F. Crawford (Eds.), Chutes and Ladders: The Hidden Curriculum that Makes or Breaks Academic Careers.
Montoya, T.M. (Forthcoming). First-gen to Policy Wonk: The Case Study of an Educator. In S. Rinfret (Ed.), The Voices of Public Service: Untold Case Studies in Public Administration (pp. 133-146). Routledge.
Montoya, T.M. (2023). T. Mark Montoya, PhD, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies. In A.J. Rodríguez (Ed.), Know That You Are Worthy: Stories from First-Generation College Graduates (pp. 109-113). Roman & Littlefield.
Benson, T. & Montoya, T.M. (2022). Concerns for First-Gen Graduate Students: Navigating Political Science Boundaries. In K.G. Lorentz II, D.J. Mallinson, J. Marin Hellwege, D. Phoenix, & J.C. Strachan (Eds.), Strategies for Navigating Graduate School and Beyond (pp. 405-410). American Political Science Association. DOI: 10.33774/apsa-2022-wv72j
Montoya, T.M. (2022). Custodians of Student Success: Campus Citizenship in the Borderlands. In G. Guzmán, S. Youngblood, & L. Rease Miles (Eds.), Campus Service Workers Supporting First-Generation Students: Informal Mentorship and Culturally Relevant Support as Key to Student Retention and Success (pp. 23-31). Routledge.
Montoya, T.M. & Martinez, E.A.* (2021). Interns-to-Scholars: First-generation Success Beyond the Classroom. Journal of First-generation Student Success, 1(3), 224-235. DOI: 10.1080/26906015.2021.1960119 [*undergraduate student]
Montoya, T.M. (2021). Navigating Institutional Borderlands: An Inside Perspective from the Outside. In J. Sablan & J.A. Van Galen (Eds.), Amplified Voices, Intersecting Identities, Volume 2: First-Generation PhDs Navigating Institutional Power in Early Academic Careers (pp. 48-55). Brill.
Montoya, T.M. (2020). Unlearning Racism: The Classroom as a Space for Social Transformation through Borderlands Pedagogy. Contemporary Justice Review, 23(2), 148-157. DOI: 10.1080/10282580.2020.1755844.
Luna, Y.M. & Montoya, T.M. (2019). “I Need This Chance to…Help My Family”: A Qualitative Analysis of the Aspirations of DACA Applicants. Social Sciences, 8(9), 265. DOI: 10.3390/socsci8090265.
Gooding, Jr., F.W. & Montoya, T.M. (2019). It Takes a Nation of Millions: How to Freestyle a Hip Hop Curriculum. In L. Jewett, F. Calderon-Berumen & M. Espinosa-Dulanto (Eds.), Critical Intersections in Contemporary Curriculum and Pedagogy (pp. 161-174). Information Age.
Montoya, T.M. (2016). But It’s a Dry Hate: Illegal-Americans, Other-Americans, and the Citizenship Regime. In D.M. Sandoval, A.J. Ratcliff, T.L. Buenavista, & J.R. Marin (Eds.), White Washing American Education: The New Culture Wars in Ethnic Studies, Volume 2: Higher Education (pp. 19-40). Praeger.
Montoya, T.M. (2016). Bad Fences Make Bad Neighbors: Challenging the Citizenship Regime in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands. Eurasia Border Review, 7(1): 71-85. DOI: 10.14943/ebr.7.1.71.
Montoya, T.M. (2016). Rage, Courage, Encourage: Citizenship in the College Classroom. In S.D. Longerbeam & A.F. Chávez (Eds.), Going Inward: The Role of Cultural Introspection in College Teaching (pp. 162-169). Peter Lang.
Montoya, T.M. (2013). Emergent Indigenous Identities at the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands. In M. Harris, M. Nakata, & B. Carlson (Eds.), The Politics of Identity: Emerging Indigeneity (pp. 78-108). University of Technology Sydney/Sydney University.
Montoya, T.M. (2013). La Raza Cósmica. In C.E. Cortés (Ed.), Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia, Volume 4, (pp. 1807-1809). Sage.
Montoya, T.M. (2013). Aztlán. In C.E. Cortés (Ed.), Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia, Volume 1, (pp. 307-308). Sage.
Speaker Presentations
More About The Speaker
View T. Mark Montoya's website here.
View T. Mark Montoya's curriculum vitae here.
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