New Faculty

The College of Social Sciences welcomes new chairs Travis Boyce, Paul Knepper and twelve new faculty members, Amy August, Soma de Bourbon, Jacquelyn Brady, Jalylah Burrell, Michael R. Fisher Jr., T. William Lester, Kerry Rohrmeier’s, Amanda Stasiewicz, Christina Tzeng, Patralekha Ukil, Yolanda Wiggins, Ahoura Zandiatashbar.

Photo Biography
Travis Boyce

Travis Boyce

Chair, Department of  African American Studies

As the fall semester began and Travis Boyce settled in as the new chair of the Department of African American Studies, he contemplated how to incorporate the events of what he calls "the cruel summer" into the fabric of the department. Continue reading

Paul Knepper

Paul Knepper

Chair, Justice Studies

This year, two things about Justice Studies are fresh and new. The department has moved the college of health and human sciences to the College of Social Sciences and Justice Studies has a new chair - Professor Paul Knepper. Continue reading

Amy August

Amy August

Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

It’s no surprise that Amy August, a new associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, has focused her scholarship on sports and education. Continue reading

Soma de Bourbon

Soma de Bourbon

Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

After seven years as a lecturer in the College of Social Sciences, Soma de Bourbon has joined the Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences as an assistant professor. Continue reading
Jacquelyn Brady

Jacquelyn Brady

Assistant Professor, Psychology

JBetter bosses make happier and healthier employees—and that helps businesses and organizations thrive. And Jacquelyn Brady, a new assistant professor of psychology at San Jose State, has the research to prove it. Continue reading
Jalylah Burrell

Jalylah Burrell

Assistant Professor, Department of African American Studies

More than once, Jalylah Burrell has described her academic field to a seatmate on an airplane and been met with snorts of derision. “They’ll start laughing - and not in a good way,” says Burrell. Continue reading
Michael R. Fisher Jr.

Michael R. Fisher Jr.

Assistant Professor, African American Studies

Michael R. Fisher Jr. is spending the year on a postdoctoral fellowship at American University in Washington, D.C., his hometown, and will begin teaching as an assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies at San José State in Fall 2021. Continue reading
T. William Lester

T. William Lester

Associate Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning

Growing up in Hyde Park on Chicago’s South Side, T. William Lester came to understand geography and concepts of urban planning almost innately. Continue reading
Kerry Rohrmeier

Kerry Rohrmeier

Assistant Professor, Geography

Kerry Rohrmeier’s first academic inquiry focused on Black Rock City, the temporary metropolis erected in the Nevada desert to host Burning Man each year. That broadened to other experimental communities built in hard desert landscapes. Continue reading
Amanda Stasiewicz

Amanda Stasiewicz

Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies

Amanda Stasiewicz is probably the only incoming faculty member in the College of Social Sciences who has been trained to fight a wildfire. Continue reading
Christina Tzeng

Christina Tzeng

Assistant Professor, Psychology

Christina Tzeng, who joined the Department of Psychology this year as an assistant professor of cognitive psychology, is calling her new research center the Spoken Language Perception Lab. Continue reading
 Patralekha Ukil

Patralekha Ukil

Assistant Professor, Economics

The light went on for Patralekha Ukil in an introduction to economics class her freshman year in high school in her native India. Her teacher had a knack for explaining abstract concepts and relating them to the human experience. Continue reading
Yolanda Wiggins

Yolanda Wiggins

Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Yolanda Wiggins has focused her research on a question germane to colleges and universities as they work toward building a level playing field for students of all races and economic backgrounds. Continue reading
 Ahoura Zandiatashbar

Ahoura Zandiatashbar

Assistant Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning

Ahoura Zandiatashbar applies his expertise in geospatial data science and mapping to probe the connections between urban planning and public policy and the knowledge economy. Continue reading
Bo Yang

Bo Yang

Assistant Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning

Bo Yang is an Assistant Professor in Department of Urban & Regional Planning at San José State University. He has interdisciplinary education background with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics, an M.S. in Computer Science, and Ph.D. in Geography. Continue reading