Tracy Lachica Buenavista

Dr. Tracy Lachica Buenavista

"Asian American Studies is important as a site to interrogate power, empower individuals and communities, and critically work together to transform oppressive structures.” 

Tracy Lachica Buenavista is Professor of Asian American Studies and a core faculty member in the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership. She also serves as the co-principal investigator for the CSUN DREAM Center, Asian American Studies Pathways Project, and Ethnic Studies Education Pathways Project; and is a member of the Project Rebound Community Advisory Committee. Professor Buenavista teaches courses on race and racism, immigration, and research methods, and in her research uses critical race theory to examine how education, immigration and carcerality shape the contemporary experiences of Filipino/a/x and other People of Color in the U.S. She is originally from the Bay Area, and loves to read, run, and jump rope.

Education

• Ph.D. Education (Emphasis in Higher Education and Organizational Change), University of California, Los Angeles, 2007.
• M.A. Education, University of California, Los Angeles, 2003.
• M.A. Asian American Studies, San Francisco State University, 2002.
• B.A. Integrative Biology with a minor in Ethnic Studies. University of California, Berkeley, 2000.

 Selected Publications

• Buenavista, T. L., Jain, D., & Ledesma, M. (Eds.) (Forthcoming). First-generation faculty of color: Reflections on research, teaching, and service. Rutgers University Press.
• Buenavista, T. L., Cariaga, S., Curammeng, E. R., McGovern, E. R., Pour-Khorshid, F., Stovall, D. O., & Valdez, C. (Forthcoming). A praxis of critical race love: Toward the abolition of cisheteropatriarchy and toxic masculinity in educational justice formations. Educational Studies. DOI:10.1080/00131946.2021.1892683 
• Buenavista, T. L. (Forthcoming). Critical race theory. The Encyclopedia of Filipina/x/o American Studies. SAGE.
• Buenavista, T. L., Stovall, D. O., Curammeng, E. R., & Valdez, C. (2019). Ethnic studies educators as enemies of the state and the fugitive space of classrooms. In C. Sleeter, R. T. Cuauhtin, W. Au, & M. Zavala (Eds.), Rethinking ethnic studies (pp. 220–225). Rethinking Schools.
• Ali, A. I. & Buenavista, T. L. (Eds.). (2018). Education at war!: The fight for students of color in America’s public schools. Fordham University Press.
• Buenavista, T. L. (2018). Model (undocumented) minorities and “illegal” immigrants: Centering Asian Americans and U.S. carcerality in undocumented student discourse. Race Ethnicity and Education, 21(1), 78–91. DOI:10.1080/13613324.2016.1248823. 
• Curammeng, E. R., Buenavista, T. L., & Cariaga, S. (2017). Asian American critical race theory: Origins, directions, and praxis. Center for Critical Race Studies at UCLA Research Briefs.https://issuu.com:443/almaiflores/docs/ec_tlb_sc_asianam_crt?e=25160478/49582421
• Buenavista, T. L. (2016). The making of a movement: Ethnic studies in a k–12 context. In D. M. Sandoval, A. J. Ratcliff, T. L. Buenavista, & J. R. Marin (Eds.), “White” washing in American education: The new culture wars in Ethnic Studies (pp. vii–xxvii). Praeger Press.
• McGovern, E. R. & Buenavista, T. L. (2016). Ethnic studies with k–12 students, families, and communities: The role of teacher education in preparing educators to serve the people. XChange: Publications and resources for public school professionals. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Center X/UC Regents. Available at https://centerx.gseis.ucla.edu/xchange/ethnic-studies-k-12/innovations/
• Buenavista, T. L. (2012). Citizenship at a cost: Undocumented Asian youth perceptions and the militarization of immigration. Asian American and Pacific Islander Nexus, 10(1), 101–124.

Selected Honors and Awards

• CSUN University Student Union, Aida C. Salazar Award, 2020
• UC Davis Equity Summit, Community Engagement and Scholar Activism Award, 2020
• CSUN Faculty Senate Outstanding Faculty Award, 2018
• CSUN Exceptional Service to Students Award, 2017
• San Francisco State University, Outstanding Asian American Studies Alumni Award, 2015
• CSUN University Ambassadors, Polished Apple Teaching Award, 2012, 2006