UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Jeanine Staples-Dixon, professor of literacy and language, assumed the role of senior faculty mentor in the Office of Educational Equity in January, to fill a position left vacant when Jennifer Hamer was named Penn State’s special adviser for institutional equity. Staples-Dixon is a faculty member in Curriculum and Education and is affiliated with both the African American Studies and Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies departments at Penn State. She'll now offer guidance that will help advance faculty at all career stages.
“Jeanine will be instrumental in welcoming new faculty members to the University and helping to provide the resources they need in order to advance at Penn State,” said Marcus Whitehurst, vice provost for Education Equity. “She will work to create and maintain an environment of institutional success and encourage the development of innovative research, teaching and service. I know Jeanine will excel in this role and support her fellow faculty members during their journey to promotion and tenure.”
Staples-Dixon will work with Educational Equity and provide representation for faculty members from underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities and those from other marginalized identities by supporting them with professional developmental services, such as tenure and promotion mentoring. This role involves analyzing University hiring and staffing patterns, as well as examining funding availability for faculty members to engage in professional development opportunities. Senior faculty mentors, who can serve as an initial point of contact for the identification and navigation of resources, also provide one-on-one consultations, including reviews of faculty member dossiers and the exploration and development of varied potential academic career trajectories.
“Senior faculty mentors are positioned to support faculty through many iterations of a successful career,” Staples-Dixon said. “I’m excited about the opportunity to serve at this level and create more meaningful pathways for success.”
Staples-Dixon has been with Penn State since 2008 and her expertise focuses on dismantling supremacist patriarchies through research, teaching and coaching. Staples-Dixon’s scholarly work, practice and advocacy areas are centered on urban education, teacher preparation, adolescent and adult literacies, socioemotional evolutions, and thriving in schools and society. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature and urban education from Howard University, a master’s degree in teaching and curriculum from Harvard University, and her doctorate in literacy and language, with distinction, from the University of Pennsylvania.
In 2015, Staples-Dixon founded the Supreme Love Project (SLP), an emotional justice initiative that confirms her trauma-informed theories and methodologies to actualize thriving among girls and women placed at risk in schools and society. This initiative has been accessed and celebrated by over 7.5 million people across the world. In 2020, Staples-Dixon was honored by the Penn State Schreyer Honors College as the Mark Luchinsky Memorial Lecturer for social justice, and is currently writing two books, Extraordinary Pedagogies (Teachers College Press, 2024) and Extraordinary Literacies (Palgrave McMillian, 2025).
Senior Faculty Mentors at Campuses
In addition to Staples-Dixon’s new role, the number of senior faculty mentors will be expanding from two to seven. These new positions were created by the University Colleges Dean office in the Office of the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses and were modeled based on the senior faculty mentors in the Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity. These five new senior faculty mentors will be appointed from tenure and non-tenured faculty members and provide representation for faculty members from the University College Commonwealth Campuses. These mentors also will frequently collaborate with the Office of Educational Equity on supporting and providing resources for faculty members to advance diversity and inclusion across Penn State.
“We have been working to reduce the time in rank before promotion to full professor, mentorship is one piece of that puzzle,” said Richard Brazier, interim dean of University College and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Research. “We want to make sure our faculty across the commonwealth campuses have access to support from their peers and a healthy transition during their career.”
Applications are now available for faculty who wish to apply for the University College faculty mentors. These positions are open to tenure or non-tenure track faculty from across the University College. Approval must be obtained from campus supervisors to be considered for these roles. Candidates will be chosen by the end of this spring semester and are set to begin their new role by the beginning of the fall 2023 semester. Interested faculty members should check their email for further information from Richard Brazier or reach out to the Office of the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses for further information.