2025 RTPC PROMOTIONS
Two of ASE’s most active faculty members who are Research, Teaching, Professional & Clinical (RTPC) faculty members were promoted last year, a significant achievement in their professional careers. Dr. Alicia L. Chávez, was promoted to Associate Professor (Teaching) of American Studies and Ethnicity, having received her doctorate from History at Stanford University in 2010. Dr. Chávez began her career at USC as a lecturer in 2013 and has become a masterful teacher of a wide variety of undergraduate courses, as well as her dedicated oversight of the graduate practicum on teaching for our new Ph.D. teaching assistants. She has also had an enormously stellar service record for ASE, being appointed the Director of Undergraduate Studies since 2019, bringing stability and rigor, while increasing the number of majors and serving on various committees at the department and College level. This past year, her service expanded as Chávez became a stellar member of the department’s Executive Committee, while becoming a dedicated mentor to other RTPC faculty members and directing the ASE Club for undergraduates.
In addition this past year, Dr. Chrisshona Grant Nieva was promoted to Assistant Professor (Teaching) of American Studies and Ethnicity. Dr. Nieva completed her Ph.D. in our ASE Department in 2011, advancing her teaching role in the department beginning with professional teaching assistant appointment, then advancing to her role as lecturer. Nieva is considered a truly remarkable instructor in the undergraduate classroom and has recently taken on the role of directing the ASE Club for undergraduates. She has built a reputation for developing a student-centered and highly interactive classroom environment, taking on the task of building this approach in some of the largest ASE General Education courses. In the coming year, Dr. Nieva is taking on the role of Co-Faculty Coordinator of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program as it moves formally into the ASE Department. Both of these RTPC faculty members contribute their pedagogical brilliance and service commitments to the highest ideals of American Studies and Ethnicity, and the department is much stronger because of their activity. Congratulations to them on their promotions!