Evelyn Ambríz, Postdoctoral Researcher for Mentoring and Faculty Engagement at Cornell University, and a university affiliate visiting scholar at the University of Texas at Austin

Introduction of Keynote Speaker

Evelyn Ambriz, PhD is a postdoctoral associate for mentoring and faculty engagement at Cornell University and a university affiliate visiting scholar at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a pragmatic organizational sociologist in the field of education and draws from various fields of to examine the impact of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and practices, including their unintended consequences and further opportunities for systemic change. Her scholarship is situated in the context of extreme cases of inequity and homogeneity: organizations historically segregated by race, gender, and class. More specifically, she examines how actors leverage their agency and interorganizational networks to influence individuals’ schemas of identity, organizational norms, and their surrounding context in order to challenge the reproduction of social inequality.

She is also co-leading the development of Cornell’s Faculty Advancing Inclusive Mentoring programming, including an immersive conference, course modules, and resources for inclusive mentoring. Her work is informed by her work as an assistant dean of students at Cornell University, where she advised culturally based student groups, developed cross-racial educational programming, and engaged in mentorship and cultural humility work and initiatives. Her research has been published in the American Education Research Journal, The Review of Educational Research, and Organizational Theory & Praxis. She holds a B.S. in sociology and an MPA from Cornell University, and a PhD in higher education leadership from the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Ambríz's website

Colleen McLinn, Graduate School Associate Dean for Professional Development

Discussion Moderator, Closing Remarks

Dr. Colleen McLinn is the Associate Dean for Professional Development at Cornell University Graduate School. She provides leadership for Graduate School Career and Professional Development offices serving doctoral and research master’s students and postdoctoral scholars (Future Faculty and Academic Careers, Careers Beyond Academia, and the Office of Postdoctoral Studies), as well as helping direct broader professional development initiatives under the Graduate School’s Pathways to Success professional development framework.

In 2012, Dr. McLinn was the founding director of Future Faculty and Academic Careers at the Graduate School (originally known as CIRTL at Cornell), and her workshop and consultation programs continue to prepare interested graduate students and postdocs for successful academic careers through development of teaching, research mentorship and skills. She is the institutional co-lead on several national initiatives, including managing Cornell’s participation in the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) Network, a group of 43 U.S. and Canadian research universities seeking to impact higher education through development of our future faculty. She also has been a Cornell co-Principal Investigator on National Science Foundation and other foundation-funded projects such as the CIRTL Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate project from 2016-2022. She is currently one of two campus leads coordinating Cornell efforts in the Equity in Graduate Education (EGE) Consortium.

Dr. McLinn's Website

Twitter: @CUFutureFaculty