Q&A
Santa-Ramirez receives prestigious ASHE Early Career Award
By VICKY SANTOS
Published January 9, 2026
Graduate School of Education faculty member Stephen Santa-Ramirez is a recipient of the 2025 Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) Early Career Award, a national honor recognizing scholars whose work demonstrates exceptional promise, impact and commitment to equity in higher education.
“Receiving the prestigious ASHE Early Career Award is deeply affirming at a moment when I’m still developing my scholarly identity,” says Santa-Ramirez, associate professor of higher education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy.
The award acknowledges Santa-Ramirez’s accomplishments and research, which have been shaped by the realities of launching a faculty career during the COVID-19 pandemic and navigating a shifting political landscape.
“I appreciate how this award recognizes not just productivity, but a commitment to justice-oriented research, teaching and community engagement during a particularly challenging period to begin a faculty career.”
Santa-Ramirez’s research centers on the lives, knowledge and resistance of historically marginalized and economically neglected students. Broadly, he investigates the historical, ideological and structural inequities that impact marginalized communities. Employing critical, student-centered and asset-based frameworks, his scholarship examines campus climate and first-generation students’ transitions and sense of belonging.
“I also have a research strand that centers on the mentoring experiences of graduate students,” he adds. “Since completing my PhD, my work has evolved to more intentionally integrate community-engaged scholarship alongside theory and empirical inquiry.”
His work has been published widely across leading higher education journals, reflecting a sustained commitment to institutional accountability and community-engaged inquiry.
Santa-Ramirez recently spoke with UBNow to reflect on his research, the communities that sustain his work and the future of justice-oriented scholarship in higher education.
How has your involvement with ASHE influenced your professional development and sense of scholarly belonging?
ASHE has been a critical space for mentorship, intellectual growth and belonging. Through ASHE, I’ve found a community of colleagues, collaborators and thought partners that value rigorous scholarship alongside humanity, care and collective responsibility.
You’ll serve as co-chair for local and community engagement at ASHE 2026 in Puerto Rico. What are you most excited about in this upcoming leadership role?
I’m most excited about building authentic, reciprocal relationships with local communities and ensuring the conference meaningfully engages the histories, knowledges, joy and struggles of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican people, including those indigenous to the island. This role aligns deeply with my commitment to community-engaged and justice-centered scholarship. Further, it has a significant personal meaning to me as a Puerto Rican.
What sustains you in this work — intellectually, emotionally and spiritually?
I’m sustained by mentorship, community and relationships rooted in care and shared purpose. Intellectually, I’m energized by collaborative inquiry; emotionally and spiritually, I’m grounded by the reminder that this work is ultimately about liberation and long-term transformation.
What has been most meaningful about your engagement with UB and the broader Buffalo academic community?
The University at Buffalo — especially the Graduate School of Education — has been a deeply supportive and affirming institutional home. It has been a joy working alongside colleagues who “get it” when it comes to engaging in work with implications to better serve and support our most underrepresented student communities. The broader Buffalo academic community has reinforced the importance of collaboration in both scholarship and teaching.
Looking ahead, how do you hope your scholarship will evolve over the next five to 10 years?
I plan to continue engaging in humanizing, critical and student-centered methodologies and frameworks with the hope that my scholarship continues to push institutions toward accountability while remaining grounded in the voices and knowledges and needs of marginalized communities. I aim to deepen my community-engaged work and contribute to transformative, liberation-oriented changes in higher education.