Faculty Profiles

Dr. Shetay Ashford-Hanserd is Chair and Professor in the Department of Organization, Workforce, and Leadership Studies at Texas State University. With over two decades of leadership experience across academic, nonprofit, and IT sectors, she is a visionary leader, award-winning educator, and nationally recognized researcher. She is the founding director of the ACCEYSS Research Group and principal investigator of multiple federally funded projects totaling over $11 million. Her scholarship and leadership focus on broadening participation in STEM+C education, interdisciplinary collaboration, and community-engaged learning. As a champion of inclusive excellence, she has led strategic academic initiatives, built strong university-community partnerships, and mentored emerging leaders across disciplines.

Dr. Ashford-Hanserd's research agenda primarily focuses on broadening participation in the U.S. P-20 (preschool, K-12, undergraduate, graduate) STEM (science, technology, engineering, entrepreneurship, mathematics) and Computing (STEM+C) workforce ecosystem.

By integrating research into teaching and service, Dr. Ashford-Hanserd's research agenda is divided into three distinct, yet interrelated, research domains to inform students, community partners, and economic development or workforce stakeholders of evidence-based success factors and interventions.

1. Cultural, community, and historical contexts.
2. Student success factors and persistence.
3. Culturally-responsive pedagogy, interventions, and evaluation.