Meet the New JRCoE Faculty
Name: Cian Brown
Title: Assistant Professor, Professional Counseling
Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/His
Hometown: Santa Monica, California
Academic/Research Interests: Adventure Therapy, School-Based Mental Health Counseling
What are some of your goals for your time at OU?: During my tenure at OU, I aim to develop and integrate Adventure Therapy programs into school-based mental health services; form community partnerships to facilitate AT programs; and continue developing research around the application of AT with specific experiential activities.
Tell us a fun fact (or facts, interests, hobbies, etc.) about yourself: I enjoy mountain biking, rock climbing and bouldering, despite disliking heights.
Name: Jacob Pleasants
Title: Assistant Professor, Science Education
Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/His
Hometown: Ames, Iowa
Academic/Research Interests: Engineering and technology in the K-12 science classroom
What are some of your goals for your time at OU?: Recruit more science teachers! Form supportive partnerships with teachers in the local schools and find ways to bring innovative experiences to K-12 students in the area.
Tell us a fun fact (or facts, interests, hobbies, etc.) about yourself: If you’re an early riser, you might see me out for a run around campus. I’m also loving the biking opportunities around Norman, but it’s much hillier than I expected it to be!
Name: Shamari Reid
Title: Assistant Professor, Critical Studies in Education
Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/His
Hometown: Oklahoma City
Academic/Research Interests: Black LGBTQ+ youth agency/Queer of color critique/The role of critical love in education/Transformative teacher education/Community-driven school leadership/ Inclusive curriculum
What are some of your goals for your time at OU?: collaborate with the wonderful OU faculty, staff and students on projects related to social justice.
Tell us a fun fact (or facts, interests, hobbies, etc.) about yourself: I love Toni Morrison.
Name: Christine Marie Zabala
Title: Assistant Professor, Gateway
Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Academic/Research interests: My research focuses on bringing a queer literacies and pedagogies approach to higher education instruction, particularly for undergraduate students. I am also interested in what a queer pedagogies lens can open up for us in the realm of curricular diversity initiatives. Finally, I am interested in the framing and implementation of required curricular diversity initiatives in higher education.
What are some of your goals for your time at OU?: Support the Gateway to Belonging program in developing and maintaining a successful freshman course experience that aligns with the pillars of the university’s strategic plan; work on publishing my dissertation study.
Tell us a fun fact (or facts, interests, hobbies, etc.) about yourself: I took up knitting during quarantine and have since knit myself a whole sweater!
Name: Michael Baugh
Title: Assistant Professor, Gateway
Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/His
Hometown: Miami
Academic/Research Interests: Afropessimism, anti-Blackness, intimate Black heterosexual relations, James Baldwin and Richard Wright
What are some of your goals for your time at OU?: Continue to publish and expand my teaching repertoire in EDS
Tell us a fun fact (or facts, interests, hobbies, etc.) about yourself: I also used to live in Sacramento, California. I did my undergraduate in theatre arts and I used to do live theatre.
Name: William Davis
Title: Assistant Professor, World Languages Education
Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/His
Hometown: Little Rock, Arkansas
Academic/Research Interests: World languages teaching (K-12), language teacher agency, culturally sustaining pedagogy
Goals at OU: My goal is to support the state of Oklahoma in becoming a national leader in language learning and multilingual advocacy.
Tell us a fun fact (or facts, interests, hobbies, etc.) about yourself: :I enjoy building analog synthesizers and listening to records with my wife and children.
Name: Jenny Sperling
Title: Assistant Professor, Critical Studies in Education
Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Hometown: Oakland, California
Academic/Research Interests: Sexual health education and K-12 educational policy; Queer youth identities and experiences; Ethnography and intersectional qualitative methods; Care-centered community collaborations
What are some of your goals for your time at OU?: I want to create spaces for folks to express themselves in ways that make them feel supported, loved and cared for – this could be done through creative writing, zine making, crafting, digital storytelling and so much more.
Tell us a fun fact (or facts, interests, hobbies, etc.) about yourself: I love dogs, especially my own fur babe who is named Rookie. We are new to Oklahoma and love finding new places to sniff and explore together. All recommendations and adventure buddies are welcome with us.