New OLPD faculty: Roberto C. Orozco
Roberto C. Orozco is an assistant professor in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development. He holds BS degrees in psychology as well as marketing and international business from Iowa State University, an MS in higher education from Florida State University, and a PhD in higher education from Rutgers University–New Brunswick. His research explores questions around race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality with relation to college student activism and student development, queer resistance and queer worldmaking in and outside of higher education contexts.
Orozco’s research agenda focuses on three main strands: 1) College Student Development: Examining the identity and sociopolitical consciousness development of queer and trans students, broadly, and queer and trans students of color, specifically. 2) College Student Activism: Examining historical and contemporary college student activists’ movements. 3) Critical Qualitative Methodologies: utilizing methodologies and frameworks such as Chicana Latina Feminist, Critical Race Theory (CRT), and Jotería Studies in his research.
“Currently, I am conducting a longitudinal study that examines the identity and sociopolitical consciousness development of queer and trans students of color in the Midwest,” he says. “Given the hostile and increasing anti-LGBTQ, anti-CRT, and anti-DEI legislation across the United States, I am interested in understanding how this sociopolitical landscape is informing students’ decisions of where they attend college; their racial, ethnic, gender, and sexuality developmental processes in these spaces; and the ways they are engaging in resistance and organizing in community.”
Orozco says he came into this work as a commitment to himself and his community. “As a queer Latino who grew up in Iowa, I am committed to telling the stories of queer and trans people of color in higher education in the Midwest,” he says.
Fun Fact: If you could invite any figure—living or dead—to dinner, who would it be and why?
"I am between two people, both Tejanas. I would invite Selena Quintanilla, who is my all-time favorite singer. I would also invite Gloria E. Anzaldúa, whose writing and words have been instrumental to my critical consciousness and jotería. I first read Anzaldúa's work in my master's program and since then her path of conocimiento has informed my research and personally, my own queer identity and process."