Affiliated Faculty
Maurina Aranda
Maurina Aranda, PhD, is an assistant professor of biological sciences and a first-generation college-going Latina from rural Michigan. She came to SIUE in 2019 and teaches biology and science education courses. Her research interests are largely focused in identifying ways to improve student knowledge of biology through creating inclusive spaces – both in and out of the classroom.
Stephanie Batson
Stephanie Batson is an instructor in the department of applied communication studies where she teaches public relations and general communication courses. She received a BS in communication from SIU Carbondale and an MS in organizational communication from North Carolina State University. She recently came from non-profit work where she advocated for low-income and vulnerable adults while utilizing her strengths in public relations.
Jessica DeSpain
Jessica DeSpain, PhD, is a professor of English and co-director of SIUE’s IRIS Center. SShe is the author of Nineteenth-Century Transatlantic Reprinting and the Embodied Book. In many of her projects, she works with local citizens and middle and high school students to tell stories about their lives and communities using the medium of digital storytelling. She is the director of the CODES Program.
Connie Frey Spurlock
Connie Frey Spurlock, PhD, is an associate professor of sociology and the faculty director of SIUE’s Successful Communities Collaborative, a cross-disciplinary program that supports one-year partnerships between the University and communities aligned with the EPIC Network, an award-winning program for fostering partnerships. She is also the director of SIUE's Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Center.
Kristine Hildebrandt
Kristine HIldebrandt, PhD, is a professor and department chair of English, and she co-directs SIUE’s IRIS Center. Dr. Hildebrandt is a linguist by training, who specializes in documenting, describing, and preserving language materials from under-documented and under-resourced languages. Dr. Hildebrandt mentors student interns as they learn about building digital archives. Dr. Hildebrandt has also worked with students to gather and analyze qualitative data on community issues, such as access to affordable high-speed internet.
Bryan Jack
Bryan Jack, PhD, specializes in African American history. His primary areas of interest are the American South as a region, racial segregation in the Midwest, and the intersection between History and popular culture, especially as it relates to race. He has published two books: Southern History on Screen: Race and Rights 1976-2016 and The Saint Louis African American Community and the Exodusters. Bryan and his wife Jenny live in the city of St. Louis. He enjoys traveling, playing golf, seeing live music, and watching the St. Louis Cardinals.
John Matta
John Matta, PhD, was an entrepreneur for most of his life and has been a professor of computer science since 2018. He runs an active research group with an emphasis on using CS tools to find solutions to social and public health issues. The group includes undergraduate and graduate students and has published more than 10 scientific papers in the last three years. Dr. Matta is a dedicated teacher with a strong interest in making CS education available to everyone. He is also an original member of IMPACT, SIUE's diversity, equity and inclusion training group.
Shadrack G. Msengi
Shadrack G. Msengi, EdD, is a disciplinary and clinical literacy faculty in the Department of Teaching and Learning. He teaches courses on clinical practicum literacy, literacy research and theories, contextualized literacy and writing assessment, strategies for reading comprehension and writing composition, and foundations for English language learners. Among the topics for his research are home and school literacy connection, multidisciplinary lenses, literacy modalities, and cultural and linguistic diversity.
Howard Rambsy
Howard Rambsy, PhD, is a Distinguished Research Professor of literature. He has taught a wide range of American and African American literature courses and coordinated more than 300 public humanities projects concentrating on African American literature and cultural history.
Margaret Smith
Margaret Smith, PhD, is a research assistant professor of digital humanities in the IRIS Center and a historian of medieval and early modern Ireland. She contributes to the Center’s projects in a number of capacities, including digital humanities teaching and training, project development, grant-writing, and community engagement.
