Dr. Judy Marquez Kiyama serves as the Associate Vice Provost, Faculty Development within the Office of Faculty Affairs at the University of Arizona. In this role she implements efforts that further the aims of the University of Arizona to excel in its Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) designation through increasing institutional capacity among faculty. This includes developing equity-focused recruitment, hiring, and retention practices; and developing faculty capacity in research, teaching and curriculum, and service. Dr. Kiyama is a professor in the Center for the Study of Higher Education, Department of Educational Policy Studies and Practice.

Prior to serving in this role, Dr. Kiyama was Chair of the Higher Education Department at the University of Denver’s Morgridge College of Education where she supported faculty in developing their scholarly agendas, inclusive teaching practices, annual review processes, and mechanisms of support for students. She worked to cultivate partnerships across the university and state-wide institutions to establish accessible opportunities for students. Additionally, she served as the College’s Office of Diversity and Inclusive Faculty Fellow where she established a comprehensive plan for recruiting, hiring, and retaining faculty of color, organized regular mentoring sessions with faculty of color, and (co)developed an audit tool for implementing recruitment and retention plans. Dr. Kiyama has served as a faculty member at both the University of Denver and the University of Rochester. 

As a community-engaged scholar, her research examines the structures that shape educational opportunities for minoritized groups through an asset-based lens to better understand the collective knowledge and resources drawn upon to confront, negotiate, and (re)shape such structures. Working alongside Latinx/o/a families and communities are at the core of her research efforts. She grounds her work in community knowledge and organizes her research in three interconnected areas: the role of parents and families; equity and power in educational research; and minoritized groups as collective networks of change. As a first-generation, Mexican American college student, she draws on her own experiences with her family to connect with the sources of support that first-generation, families of color offer their students in the transition to college. Her numerous publications focus on equity and inclusion efforts to better serve minoritized students, and their families and communities, including her most recent book: Funds of Knowledge in Higher Education: Honoring Students’ Cultural Experiences and Resources as Strengths.

Dr. Kiyama is committed to building partnerships across academic and student support units, and community and institutional contexts. She brings a deep understanding of the organization and governance of higher education institutions; a long-established research agenda focused on educational access and opportunity for Latinx/o/a communities; a record of cultivating effective teams at the department, institution, and national levels; and a passion for faculty development. She is a three-time graduate of the University of Arizona and a proud former participant of both the New Start Summer Program and TRiO Student Support Services.