Victoria Nunez
Mercy Hall, Room 28A
Dobbs Ferry, NY
vnunez6@mercy.edu
914-674-3037
EDUCATION
University of Massachusetts, Amherst Doctor of Philosophy, English/American Studies.
Dissertation: "Unpacking The Suitcases They Carried: Narratives of Dominican and Puerto
Rican Migrations to the Northeastern United States."
• Certificate in Latin American and Latino Studies
University of Massachusetts, Boston Master of Arts, Bilingual and English as a Second
Language Education. Thesis topic: "Sociolinguistic Considerations in the Education of U.S.Born Puerto Rican Students."
Tufts University Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude, History. Degree Concentration: Latin American
Studies. Community Health Program Participant.
Universidad de los Andes Bogota, Colombia. study abroad program.
Current Research Interests: Multilingualism, Access to Higher Education, Puerto Rican and
Dominican Migrants in the U.S., Diversity and Equity in K-12 education, Teacher Education.
UNIVERSITY & COLLEGE TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Mercy College. School of Education
Assistant Professor in Literacy and Multilingual Studies [Fall2013-present)
Courses:
Teaching English as a Second Language (Fall, 2013)
English Grammar (Fall, 2013)
Brooklyn College. The City University of New York. School of Education
Instructor (Fall 2005- Spring, 2012)
Courses:
Diversity and the Inclusive Class (Graduate)
The Art, Philosophy and Culture of Teaching (Undergraduate)
Education and Society, Teaching the Social Sciences (Undergraduate)
Secondary Methods: Integrative and Multidisciplinary Teaching and Learning(Undergraduate)
University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA English Department Teaching Associate (Fall 19992003) Courses:
Ethnic American Literature
American Experiences [Introductory American Studies Course]
College Writing 111& 112: These two courses constitute the freshman composition classes.
The 111 course is an extra semester writing intensive course for students who need extra
assistance with writing.
Roxbury Community College. Boston,MA Adjunct Instructor
(Fall, 1995) Courses:
English as a Second Language
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
"Writing the Migration: Pedro Henriquez Urena and Early Dominican Migrants to New York
City" MELUS, The Society of the Study of the Multi-ethnic Literatures of the United States
(national, peer-reviewed journal). Fall, 2011.
"Remembering Pura Belpre's Early Career at the 135th Street New York Public Library:
Interracial Cooperation and Puerto Rican Settlement During the Harlem Renaissance." Centro,
The journal of the Centro de Estudios Puertorriquenos. (national, peer-reviewed journal).
Spring 2009.
"Reading Puerto Rican Migration in the Autobiography of Antonia Pantoja." Sargasso, A
journal of Caribbean Literature, Language and Culture. (international, peer-reviewed journal).
Fall, 2006.
"Sonia Nieto, U.S. Puerto Rican Educational Activist" in Ed. Virginia Sanchez Korrol and Vicki
Ruiz, Latinas in the United States. An Historical Encyclopedia. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press. 2006.
"Antonia Pantoja (1922-2002) Puerto Rican-born academic, community activist, and
organizer" in Ed. Suzanne Oboler and Deena Gonzalez, Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and
Latinas in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005.
MULTIMEDlA PRODUCTS
"Interview ofV.Nunez" in Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Producer). (2011). Pura Belpre,
Storyteller [DVD documentary]. Available from http://hunter.cuny.edu/centropr
2004-2006. Co-developed prototype of website to present digital classroom resources for the
study of texts by Puerto Rican migrant authors, "Puerto Rican Writers and Migration: Folklore,
Autobiography and History" http:1/centropr.hunter.cuny.edu/prwriters/index.html
ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS
"Querying The Place and Shape of Ethics in Education: Models and Methods" (2010).
Northeastern Educational Research Association Conference Proceedings 2010. Paperl.S.
http:jjdigitalcommons.uconn.edujnera_2010/21j
CURRENT PROJECTS IN PROCESS
The Presence of Composition Practices in Education Courses: Students' Perspectives on the
Impact of Instructor's Efforts to Improve the Academic Writing of Second Language Writers
Project Support: PSC-CUNY GrantAY 2010-2011; Faculty Research Fellowship,
Preliminary Data presented: CUNY Educational Research Conference, May 2011
"Puerto Ricans' Civil Rights Activism and School Reform in Postwar New York City"
Project Support: Centro de Estudios Puertorriquenos Faculty Research Fellowship (Hunter
College), 2011. Manuscript in process.
"The Unruly City": New York City Schools in the novel Push: A Novel by Sapphire and Precious,
based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Preliminary draft presented: Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association, October, 2011.
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OTHER PUBLICATIONS
"Incorporating New Technologies into Puerto Rican and Latino Studies" El Boletin, Newsletter
of the Centro de Estudios Puertorriquefios, Fall 2007: 4
"Incorporating Latino Communities into Educational Research, Statement on Methodology"
National Latino Education Research and Policy Project, Occasional Papers. New York, 2004.
"Boston-Area Project Seeks to Change National Policy Toward Women Refugees in the U.S."
Newsletter of the National Network ofGrantmakers ,Winter 1995:3.
"Their Crazy Lives, Movie Review of Mi Vida Loca" Sojourner: The Women's Forum, September
1994:39.
"Students and Teachers: Creating an Alliance" All Write News. the Newsletter ofthe Adult
Literacy Resource Institute. May 1989: 8-9. (with Mattie Wheeler, Ada Cherry, and Greg
Leeds)
"Notes from Prison: Reflections On Survival". Woman of Power. A Magazine of Feminism.
Spirituality. and Politics Fall1986: 45-52.(Introduction by Jerma Jackson and Vicky Nunez)
PUBLIC & CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
-"The Unruly City": New York City Schools in the novel Push: A Novel by Sapphire and
Precious, based on the Novel Push by Sapphire." Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association,
2011Conference. Phoenix, AZ, October, 2011.
-"Improving the Academic Writing of Second Language Students in the Education Class: What
Works and Why?" The 2011 CUNY Education Conference, Urban Education: Challenges and
Opportunities, The CUNY Graduate Center, New York. May, 2011.
-"Strengthening the Educational Pipeline" Symposium Discussant. Centro de Estudios
Puertorriquefios, Public Policy Conference on Puerto Rican Social Issues, Hunter School of
Social Work, New York. December, 2010.
-"Ethics Across the Curriculum: Exploration by an Interdisciplinary Academic Community of
Inquiry" Panel Discussant. Northeastern Educational Research Association Annual Meeting,
Rocky Hill, CT. October, 2010.
-"Multilingual Matters: Instructing Brooklyn College Students from Multiple Language
Backgrounds." Discussion table at Brooklyn College Faculty Day, NY. May, 2010.
-"Social Justice and the Urban Foundations Class: Should We Address Writing Skills?" a paper
at the 39th Annual Meeting of the New York State Foundations of Education Association
Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY. April 2010.
-"Puerto Ricans Writing the Migration: Using Primary Sources at the Centro de Estudios
Puertorriquefios and the Internet to Raise the Visibility of Puerto Ricans Writing in the U.S."
Paper presentation. Puerto Rican Studies Association Eighth Biennial Conference. Centro de
Estudios Avanzados del Caribe, San Juan, Puerto Rico. October, 2008.
-"Remembering, Collecting and Recording Puerto Rican History: Aspira, Educational Activism
and the Growth of the Stateside Puerto Rican Community." Panel organizer and panel chair.
Puerto Rican Studies Association Eighth Biennial Conference. Centro de Estudios Avanzados
del Caribe, San Juan, Puerto Rico. October, 2008.
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-"The Library as a Site of Resistance: Knowledge Construction and Interracial Cooperation
During the Harlem Renaissance." Paper presented. American Educational Research
Association Annual Meeting, New York City. 2008.
-"The Library as a Site of Resistance: Latinojas at the 135th Street Library During the Harlem
Renaissance." Invited presentation Pratt School of Library Science, NY. 2008.
-"From Desegregation to Community Control to the Present: Urban Teacher Education and the
Postwar History of New York City Public Schools." Paper presented. American Educational
Studies Association, Annual Conference. Cleveland, OH. 2007.
-"Puerto Rican Harlemites, Race and Migration in the 1920s: The Case of Pura Belpre." Puerto
Rican Studies Association Seventh Biennial Conference. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. 2006.
-"Latina Legacies, A Book Discussion" International Women's Day Event, Centro de Estudios
Puertorriquefios. Hunter College, New York. 2006.
-"Latina Writers/Latina Communities in Narratives of the Great Migrations to the
Northeastern United States" American Studies Association National Conference, Atlanta, GA.
2004.
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE/RESEARCH
Reviewer of articles for the following national peer-reviewed journals:
-Centro, The journal of the Centro de Estudios Puertorriquenos.
-Educational Studies
Book manuscript reviewer: Centro Publications (new book publisher at Center for Puerto
Rican Studies)
Abstract Reviewer: Northeastern Education Research Association, 2011.
Grant Reviewer, University Committee on Research Awards, The City University of New York,
Education Review Panel Member. 2007.
LANGUAGES
English and Spanish
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS &ASSOCIATIONS
TESOL; New York State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (NYSTESOL);
Northeastern Educational Research Association (NERA); Puerto Rican Studies Association
(PRSA); Society of Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States (MELUS); Rocky Mountain
Modern Language Association (RMLA).
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Dr. Nunez's areas of expertise include Teaching English as a Second Language and second
language acquisition, specifically second language writing. She is interested in literacy practices
and literature in Latina/a communities historically and in the present. Her most recent
publications include "Writing the Migration: Pedro Henriquez Urena and Early Dominican
Migrants to New York City" MELUS, The Society of the Study of the Multi-ethnic Literatures of the
United States (2011) and "Remembering Pura Belpre's Early Career at the 135th Street New
York Public Library: Interracial Cooperation and Puerto Rican Settlement During the Harlem
Renaissance" {2009}. Her current research interests include second language writing,
multilingualism, access to higher education, Puerto Rican and Dominican Migrants in the U.S.,
Diversity and Equity in K-12 education, and multicultural teacher education. She has dedicated
much of her fifteen year career as an educator to literacy development in Latina/a education.
Skills and interests in other areas include place-based learning, interdisciplinary collaboration
and distance education.
Victoria (Vicky) Nuiiez,PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Literacy and
Multilingual Studies in the School of Education at Mercy College in New York. She has
worked as an educator for fifteen years beginning in neighborhood-based literacy
programs and then moving to K-12 education. Most recently, she developed K-12
curricula that is aligned with the Common Core State Standards, and has done
presentations for students on Latina/a studies. Her research on memory and the
twentieth century migrations of Latino/as in the northeastern United States is unique in
its comparative perspective. Previously, she was a full-time instructor in the School of
Education at Brooklyn College and worked on the National Latina/a Education Research
and Policy Project. Vicky has taught literacy courses to adults and secondary education
students and served as an administrator in adult literacy programs. She made a central
contribution to the area of community-based planning for adult education while working
for the Massachusetts State department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Dr.
Nunez began her career in service and empowerment work as a
volunteer in a battered women's shelter, Casa Myrna Vasquez and as a staff member
conducted community educational presentations on domestic violence. From this early
point, she developed a passion for building a more just society, and particularly
protecting the rights of vulnerable children and youth. Dr. Nunez earned a master's
degree in ESL and bilingual education at UMASS, Boston and a doctoral degree in
English/American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She completed
her undergraduate studies at Tufts University.