Kristabel Aguero, Biology
Kristabel is an alumni of the University of Texas at San Antonio College of Science and a first generation college graduate. She is a Lecturer II and core course coordinator and instructor of Contemporary Biology II for non-Science majors and Biosciences II labs for science majors. In addition to teaching the labs she is also the lab coordinator for Biosciences II. She is looking forward to contributing to the effort to make UTSA a more inclusive environment for its diverse student population.
Fatma Arslan, Electrical Engineering
Fatma Arslan is a Senior Lecturer at Electrical and Computer Engineering. She earned her Ph.D. from UTSA in 2007. She is passionate about including everybody in the career of Electrical Engineering especially female students. She is also passionate about effective teaching and making the face of engineering more friendly for all of her students. Her research interests include applying mathematical principles to Image Processing Algorithms. She teaches junior level core courses for mostly Electrical Engineers.
Ishani Banerji, MarketingIshani is an Assistant Professor in Practice in the Marketing Department and the Director for the Carolan Research Forum. She studies how consumers influence one another, particularly through their communications with one another. Before joining UTSA, she was the research director for the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research at the McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University. She holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from Indiana University and an M.A. from Wake Forest University. Her key research interests are social influence, embodiment, and culture. Her research has appeared in the Washington Post, USA Today, and U.S. News, and she has written for the Huffington Post blog.
Dina Drozdov, Physics and AstronomyDina Drozdov is a senior lecturer in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. She received her Ph.D. from Clemson University in 2015 and joined UTSA in January of 2018. She is an observational astronomer with a passion for promoting minority and diversity inclusion in STEM through public outreach. She teaches introductory astronomy courses at UTSA, serving all majors and backgrounds.
Leslie Doss, EconomicsLes Doss is a Lecturer III in the College of Business/Economics and Finance. Besides his teaching and research areas of study, he is presently a Doctoral Candidate in Finance. Les received his Bachelors in Electrical Engineering and MBS from UTSA. He has been a UTSA faculty member since January 1990. He specializes in public sector and health economics.
Norma Guerra, Educational PsychologyNorma has her doctoral degree from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas in educational psychology and a master’s degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is trained and certified with a license specialty in school psychology and license as a professional counselor – supervisor. She has also been certified as an educational diagnostician and a secondary level teacher. Norma’s 29 years at UTSA reflect her professional contributions across academic, administrative, student affairs, and business affairs areas. Her research areas include social cognitive problem solving, initial/sustained attention, and work with underrepresented college student groups.
Matthias Hofferberth, Political Science and GeographyBorn and educated in Germany, Mattias joined UTSA as an Assistant Professor of Political Science in January 2013. He researches and teaches world politics, global governance, and globalization. Diversity and critical thinking is important to him which is why he likes to challenge his students in interactive, inclusive, and student-focused classes.
Sonja Lanehart, EnglishSonja L. Lanehart, Professor and Brackenridge Endowed Chair in Literature and the Humanities, received her B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is a former Ford Foundation Post-doctoral Fellow, Ford Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellow awardee, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow, Lilly Teaching Fellow, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society and Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society. Her teaching and research interests include Sociolinguistics; Language, Literacy, and Education in African American Communities; Language and Identity; African American Women’s Language; Motivation; Goals sand Possible Selves; Language Variation and Education and how we can interrogate these areas with respect to demographic variables and Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, and Black Feminism.
Ray Lopez, PsychologyDr. Lopez earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from The University of Texas, where he worked for 4 years in the research laboratory of Abram Amsel, one of the leading theorists in behaviorism. Dr. Lopez earned a master of science and doctoral degree in experimental physiological psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington. The work that Dr. Lopez did at UT Arlington has served as the foundation for several prolific programs of research investigating the nature of pain, work which continues to this day. Following his graduate studies, Dr. Lopez worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, working in the area of pharmacology. Currently, he is an Advisory Software Engineer with IBM, Watson & Cloud Platform. Prior to working at IBM, Dr. Lopez worked in the non-profit sector, was a managing consultant with IBM Global Services, a consultant with EDS, and technology director for a couple of dotcoms.
Carolyn Luna, MathematicsCarolyn has been teaching mathematics at UTSA since 2008 and enjoys the time she spends both with the subject and with her students. After earning a bachelor of science degree in environmental science and working in consulting for 7 years, she entered the field of education in 2005. She reaps the benefits daily of her decision to switch careers; sharing her passion for the subject with others coupled with the challenge of engaging students in the content has been a constant source of joy for her. Carolyn is also a cancer survivor after being diagnosed with melanoma in 2002.
Tara Schmidt, Library
