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Blanca Elizabeth Vega
Associate Professor, Educational Leadership, College for Education and Engaged Learning
- Office:
- University Hall 2191
- Email:
- vegab@montclair.edu
- Phone:
- 973-655-3212
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Profile
Dr. Blanca Elizabeth Vega was born and raised in New York City to Ecuadorian immigrant parents. She currently serves as an associate professor and graduate program coordinator for the MA in Higher Education at 糖心vlog. Dr. Vega earned her Ed.D. from the prestigious Higher and Postsecondary Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University.
With nearly 25 years of administrative, research, and teaching experience in various higher education settings, Dr. Vega transitioned to academia as a faculty member and has significantly contributed to the Master of Arts in Higher Education program at 糖心vlog since 2017. As the coordinator of Montclair State鈥檚 Master of Arts program in Higher Education, she has been instrumental in guiding the program's development, leading it from its origins as a concentration to its establishment as a stand-alone program in 2020. Under her leadership, the program now offers critical courses such as Leadership and Supervision in Higher Education, Economics and Finance of Higher Education, and Diversity and Equity in Higher Education, which aim to provide higher education professionals with knowledge, skills, and experiences in equity-mindedness and racial responsiveness.
Dr. Vega's research is rooted in a deep commitment to equity, access, and success for underserved populations in higher education. As a testament to this commitment, Dr. Vega has been awarded several national grants to pursue critical research agendas. In 2022, Dr. Vega was awarded a national grant award from the Spencer Foundation to explore the experiences of higher education and student affairs professionals with policies related to undocumented students. Additionally, Dr. Vega was awarded the Channing Briggs Foundation grant from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) to organize training focused on racialized organizational conflict and a grant from the National Association of Campus Activities to explore Latine student leadership in HSIs. Finally, Dr. Vega was selected as a Higher Education Academic Leadership (HEAL) Fellow at 糖心vlog, where she will explore racially responsive and equity-minded frameworks for new HSI faculty. Dr. Vega's body of work critically examines the pervasive impact of racism on the experiences and outcomes of students, administrators, and faculty alike, solidifying her role as a leading voice in these vital areas of study.
AWARDS
2023 - HEAL (Higher Education Academic Leadership) Fellow. 糖心vlog. Exploring Racial Responsiveness in Faculty Development.
2023 - 1619 Project Education Network. HBCUs Matter: A K-20 Collaborative Project for The Pulitzer Center鈥檚 1619 Project Education Network
2023 - National Association of Campus Activities. HSI Training and Student Leadership: Consciousness and Character
2023 - Channing Briggs Foundation grant from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA). Racialized Organizational Conflict Training for Higher Education Professionals
2022 - Spencer Foundation Small Grant. Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) professionals experiences working with undocumented students and related policies
2020 - Research Mentoring Grant, awarded by the National Academy of Education and Spencer Foundation
PUBLICATIONS
2025
Vega, B. E. (2025). An UndocuCrit Analysis of New Jersey Higher Education Leaders鈥 Statements of Support for Undocumented Students. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 1鈥17.
Vega, B. E., & Sanchez Swain, J. (2025). An UndocuEquity Approach to Promoting a Sense of Belonging for Undocumented Students. New Directions for Higher Education, 209, 15鈥26.
Vega, B. E., Ali, D., & Lowe, D. (2025). Patchwork Protections: A Pilot Self-Study of the Public Policy Division (PPD) of NASPA in the Anti-Diversity, Equity 鈥. Journal of College and Character, 26(1), 12鈥25.
2024
Vega, B. E., Talamo, A., & Coleman, C. (2024). The Importance of Mental Health Training in Faculty Development. ACPA Developments, 21(2).
Vega, B. E. (2024). Racial conflict in a higher education policy vacuum. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 32.
2022
Vega, B. E., Nienhusser, H. K., & Carquin-Hamichand, M. S. (2022). 鈥淲hen I would hurt鈥: Undocumented students鈥 responses to obstacles faced during the college choice process. The Educational Forum, 86(3), 237鈥252.
Vega, B. E., Liera, R., & Boveda, M. (2022). Hispanic-serving institutions as racialized organizations: Elevating intersectional consciousness to reframe the 鈥淗鈥 in HSIs. AERA Open, 8, 23328584221095074.
Vega, B. E. (2022). Becoming first-generation. Journal for Multicultural Education, 16(2), 171鈥183.
Vega, B. E. (2022). Serving Black communities at Hispanic-serving institutions. About Campus, 27(1), 10鈥19.
Vega, B. E. (2022). Delegitimizing race. Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity (JCSCORE), 8(2), 41鈥77.
2021
Vega, B. E. (2021). 鈥淲hat Is the Real Belief on Campus?鈥 Perceptions of Racial Conflict at a Minority-Serving Institution and a Historically White Institution. Teachers College Record, 123(9), 144鈥170.
Leon, R. A., & Vega, B. E. (2021). Perceptions of state-regulated reform: Desire, dedication, and uncertainty in policy implementation. Higher Education Policy, 34(3), 622鈥642.
Vega, B. E., & Rodas, E. I. R. (2021). Centering Central American students in higher education research: A proposal for Central American student self-report (CASSR). In Studying Latinx/a/o Students in Higher Education, 137鈥148.
Vega, B. E. (2021). Scholar mami strategies: Advancing in the teaching鈥恛riented institution at mid鈥恈areer. New Directions for Higher Education, 193(194), 21鈥28.
2019
Vega, B. E. (2019). Lessons From an Administrative Closure: The Curious Case of Black Space at an MSI. Frontiers in Education.
2016
Nienhusser, H. K., Vega, B. E., & Carquin, M. S. (2016). Undocumented students鈥 experiences with microaggressions during their college choice process. Teachers College Record, 118(2), 1鈥33.
Vega, B. E., Delima, D., & Williams, K. E. (2016). The Importance of Racial Literacy and Racial Dialogues in Emerging Race Scholar Identity Development for Graduate Students of Color. In Envisioning Critical Race Praxis in Higher Education.
2015
Kiyama, J. M., Museus, S. D., & Vega, B. E. (2015). Cultivating campus environments to maximize success among Latino and Latina college students. New Directions for Higher Education, 2015(172), 29鈥38.
Nienhusser, H. K., Vega, B. E., & Carquin, M. S. (2015). Bridging the Gap: Guiding the College Search of Undocumented Students. Journal of College Admission.
Vega, B. E. (2015). Beyond incidents and apologies: Toward a new understanding of campus racial conflict. Doctoral Dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University.
2013
Vega, B. E. (2013). Occupying the Academy: Just How Important Is Diversity Work in Higher Education? Review in The Review of Higher Education, 36(4), 568鈥569.
Dougherty, K. J., Natow, R. S., Bork, R. H., Jones, S. M., & Vega, B. E. (2013). Accounting for higher education accountability: Political origins of state performance funding. Teachers College Record, 115(1), 1鈥50.
2012
Museus, S. D., Ravello, J. N., & Vega, B. E. (2012). The campus racial culture: A critical race counterstory. In Creating Campus Cultures, 28鈥45.
Dougherty, K. J., Natow, R. S., & Vega, B. E. (2012). Popular but unstable: Explaining why state performance funding systems in the United States often do not persist. Teachers College Record, 114(3), 1鈥41.
2011
Dougherty, K. J., Natow, R. S., Hare, R. J., Jones, S. M., & Vega, B. E. (2011). The Politics of Performance Funding in Eight States: Origins, Demise, and Change. Community College Research Center.
2010
Dougherty, K. J., Natow, R. S., Hare, R. J., & Vega, B. E. (2010). The Political Origins of Higher Education Performance Funding in Six States. CCRC Brief, No. 47.
Dougherty, K. J., Natow, R. S., Hare, R. J. H., & Vega, B. E. (2010). The Political Origins of Higher Education Performance Funding in Six States.
Dougherty, K. J., Nienhusser, H. K., & Vega, B. E. (2010). Undocumented immigrants and state higher education policy: The politics of in-state tuition eligibility in Texas and Arizona. The Review of Higher Education, 34(1), 123鈥173.
Dougherty, K. J., Natow, R. S., Bork, R. J. H., & Vega, B. E. (2010). The political origins of state-level performance funding for higher education: Florida, Illinois, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington.
MEDIA APPEARANCES and PUBLIC SCHOLARSHIP
Invited Guest on Que Pasa HSI? Hosted by Dr. Gina Ann Garcia
Invitation to appear on The View from Venus a podcast related to the University of Venus blog at Inside Higher Ed:
Invited Guest on Encuentros Politicos hosted by Dr. Edwin Mayorga: 鈥淗igher education, futuros under the Biden/Harris Administration鈥: (March 26, 2021)
Invited Columnist: A look forward: How the 1776 report protects Trump and other racists. January 2021. Latino Rebels.
Invited Columnist: Call me Doctora. December 2020. Latino Rebels.
Invited Guest on Encuentros Politicos hosted by Dr. Edwin Mayorga: 鈥淩adio: Racial Complexities of College Admissions, a convo w/ Drs. OiYan Poon and Blanca Vega鈥 (April 14, 2019)
Quoted in Slate: 鈥淗ow Exactly Will SAT Test Takers鈥 鈥淎dversity Score鈥 Be Calculated?鈥 (May 21, 2019)
Quoted in The New York Times: 鈥淐olorblind Notions Aside, Colleges Grapple with Racial Tension鈥 (February 24, 2014)
Parenting and the Pandemic - Wallet Hub:
Specialization
Dr. Vega specializes in higher education access, equity, and success. Dr. Vega has publications in the areas of higher education finance, undocumented immigrants and policymaking, campus racial climate and culture, Minority Serving Institutions and racialized organizational conflict; and racial ideologies in Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) and predominantly white Institutions (PWI).