T Mark Montoya (he/him/his)

Associate Dean for Curriculum and Student Affairs, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Associate Professor, Ethnic Studies Program
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Also associated with
Department of Ethnic Studies
Indigenous Research & Teaching Circle
NAU President's Distinguished Teaching Fellow | Association for Borderlands Studies Past President | FirstGen Forward CatalystFIRST Speaker

Contact

Building: Raul H. Castro Social and Behavioral Sciences (65)
Room: 243

Biography

T. Mark Montoya, Ph.D. is the Associate Dean for Curriculum and Student Success and Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Northern Arizona University (NAU). A first-generation college student, Montoya attended New Mexico State University (NMSU), where he received a BA in History and an MA in Government. He moved to Arizona to pursue a PhD in Political Science at NAU, which he completed with Distinction in 2009. Montoya’s scholarship centers broadly on the US-Mexico borderlands, borderlands pedagogy, citizenship, Ethnic Studies, Latinx Studies, DACA, Hip Hop, and first-generation student experiences. At NAU, Montoya is most involved with the First-generation Learning Community, the Teaching Academy, and the Commission on Ethnic Diversity. He also serves as Immediate Past President of the Association for Borderlands Studies, chair of the Northern Arizona Dream Fund, and is on the editorial board for the Journal of First-generation Student Success. His awards include the NAU President's Distinguished Teaching Fellow (2022-2026 term), the “Government Department Star” of the College of Arts and Sciences at NMSU (2020), the Victoria Foundation’s Outstanding Latinx Faculty Service/Teaching in Arizona Higher Education Award (2019), NAU Commencement Speaker for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (2016), NAU College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Teacher of the Year (2015), NAU Outstanding Advocate Award for First-Generation College Students (2013), and the NAU President’s Award for Ethnic Diversity (2012). He is most grateful for his partner Katy and their dog Maya.

Degrees

B.A. History
New Mexico State University-University Park
M.A. Government
New Mexico State University-University Park
Ph.D. Political Science
Northern Arizona University

Experience

Associate Professor
Ethnic Studies Program
2019 – Present

Scholarship and Creative Activity

Chapter
Montoya, T. (2023). <span style="font-size:11pt;">T. Mark Montoya, PhD, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies</span><span style="font-size:medium;"></span>. Know That You Are Worthy: Stories From First-Generation College Graduates (p. ). Rowman & Littlefield.
Montoya, T. (2023). <span style="font-size:11pt;">First-gen to Policy Wonk: The Case Study of an Educator. </span><span style="font-size:medium;"></span>. The Voices of Public Service: Untold Case Studies in Public Administration. (p. ).
Montoya, T. (2022). Custodians of Student Success: Campus Citizenship in the Borderlands. Campus Service Workers Supporting First-Generation Students: Informal Mentorship and Culturally Relevant Support as Key to Student Retention and Success (p. 23-31). New York: Routledge Press.
Montoya, T., & Beson, T. (2022). Concerns for First-Gen Graduate Students: Navigating Political Science Boundaries . Strategies for Navigating Graduate School and Beyond (p. ). American Political Science Association.
Montoya, T. (2021). Navigating Institutional Borderlands: An Inside Perspective from the Outside. Amplified Voices, Intersecting Identities, Volume 2: First-Generation PhDs Navigating Institutional Power in Early Academic Careers (p. 48-55). Boston: Brill Publishing.
Montoya, T., & Gooding, Jr., F. W. (2019). It Takes a Nation of Millions: How to Freestyle a Hip Hop Curriculum. Critical Intersections in Contemporary Curriculum and Pedagogy (p. 123-136). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Montoya, T. (2016). But It’s a Dry Hate: Illegal-Americans, Other-Americans, and the Citizenship Regime. White Washing American Education: The New Culture Wars in Ethnic Studies (p. ).
Montoya, T. (2016). Rage, Courage, Encourage: Citizenship in the College Classroom. Going Inward: The Role of Cultural Introspection in College Teaching (p. ).
Montoya, T. (2013). Emergent Indigenous Identities at the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands. The Politics of Identity: Emerging Indigeneity (p. ). Sydney, AU: Sydney University Press.
Montoya, T. M. (2013). Aztlán. Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia (p. ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Montoya, T. M. (2013). La Raza Cósmica. Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia (p. ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Montoya, T. M. (2013). “Emergent Indigenous Identities at the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands.”. The Politics of Identity: Emerging Indigeneity (p. 78-108). Sydney, AU: University of Technology Sydney Press/Sydney University Press.
Journal Publication
Montoya, T., & Martinez, E. A. (2021). Interns-to-Scholars: First-generation Success Beyond the Classroom. Journal of First-generation Student Success, 3(1), 224-235.
Montoya, T. (2020). Unlearning Racism: The Classroom as a Space for Social Transformation through Borderlands Pedagogy. Contemporary Justice Review, 23(2), 148-157.
Luna, Y. M., & Montoya, T. (2019). I Need This Chance to…Help My Family’: A Qualitative Analysis of the Aspirations of DACA Applicants. Social Sciences, 1-24.
Luna, Y. M., & Montoya, T. (2019). I Need This Chance to…Help My Family’: A Qualitative Analysis of the Aspirations of DACA Applicants. Social Sciences, 8(9), 265-280.
This study explores the aspirations of undocumented youth seeking to defer deportation from the United States and obtain temporary employment authorization through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The data are twenty-three letters submitted from 2013–2015 to a nonprofit foundation in the US Southwest that provides financial assistance to pay DACA application fees. Conducted within a narrative framework, analysis of emergent themes reveals a story of hope and family that counters the dominant political story of fear and threat to public safety. Specifically, from the DACA applicant’s standpoint, family is their most valuable form of social capital and by providing the means for employment and the education needed to launch a sustainable career, DACA status provides the leverage required to maximize family capital. Our analysis reveals a disturbing disjuncture between their testimonios and the realities of a policy intended to serve as a safety net. The current political climate makes aspirations like theirs increasingly difficult to achieve and may actually exacerbate legal and social liminality.
Luna, Y. M., & Montoya, T. (2019). I Need This Chance to…Help My Family’: A Qualitative Analysis of the Aspirations of DACA Applicants. Social Sciences, 8(9), 265-280.
This study explores the aspirations of undocumented youth seeking to defer deportation from the United States and obtain temporary employment authorization through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The data are twenty-three letters submitted from 2013–2015 to a nonprofit foundation in the US Southwest that provides financial assistance to pay DACA application fees. Conducted within a narrative framework, analysis of emergent themes reveals a story of hope and family that counters the dominant political story of fear and threat to public safety. Specifically, from the DACA applicant’s standpoint, family is their most valuable form of social capital and by providing the means for employment and the education needed to launch a sustainable career, DACA status provides the leverage required to maximize family capital. Our analysis reveals a disturbing disjuncture between their testimonios and the realities of a policy intended to serve as a safety net. The current political climate makes aspirations like theirs increasingly difficult to achieve and may actually exacerbate legal and social liminality.
Montoya, T. (2016). Bad Fences Make Bad Neighbors: Challenging the Citizenship Regime in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands. Eurasia Border Review, 1(7), 71-85.
Review
Montoya, T. (2018). Framing Immigrants: News Coverage, Public Opinion, and Policy, Haynes, Merolla, and Ramakrishnan. : The Social Science Journal 55:4 (December 2018).
Montoya, T. M. (2013). Barack Obama, Post-Racialism, and the New Politics of Triangulation, by T. Smith. : Choice 50:5 (Feb 2013).
Barack Obama, Post-Racialism, and the New Politics of Triangulation, T. Smith. Choice 50:5 (Feb 2013).
Montoya, T. M. (2012). Book Review: Mexico and Its Diaspora in the United States: Policies of Emigration since 1848, A. Délano .
Montoya, T. M. (2010). Book Review: New faces, New Voices: The Hispanic Electorate in America, M.A. Abrajano and R.M. Alvarez .
Montoya, T. M. (2010). Book Review: Political Corruption in Mexico: The Impact of Democratization, S.D. Morris .
Montoya, T. M. (2010). Book Review: Political Corruption in Mexico: The Impact of Democratization, S.D. Morris .
Montoya, T. M. (2010). Book Review: Political Corruption in Mexico: The Impact of Democratization, S.D. Morris .
Montoya, T. M. (2010). Book Review: Political Corruption in Mexico: The Impact of Democratization, S.D. Morris .
Montoya, T. M. (2009). Book Review: Minority Report: Evaluating Political Equality in America, J.D. Griffin and B. Newman .
Montoya, T. M. (2008). Book Review: Gender on the Borderlands: The Frontiers Reader, A. Castañeda, S. H. Armitage, P. Hart and K.Weathermon .
Montoya, T. M. (2008). Book Review: Officially Hispanic: Classification Policy and Identity, J.E. Idler .
Montoya, T. M. (2008). Book Review: Gender on the Borderlands: The Frontiers Reader, A. Castañeda, S. H. Armitage, P. Hart and K.Weathermon .
Montoya, T. M. (2006). Book Review: The Impacts of Norms in International Society: The Latin American Experience, 1881-2001, A.M.Kacowicz .
Montoya, T. M. (2006). Book Review: Fluid Borders: Latino Power, Identity, and Politics in Los Angeles, L. García Bedolla : null.
Montoya, T. M. (2006). Book Review: Armed Actors: Organised Violence and State Failure in Latin America, Ed., K. Koonings and D. Kruijt .
Montoya, T. M. (2005). Book Review: Latino Political Power, K. Geron .
Montoya, T. M. (2005). Book Review: Democracy in Immigrant America: Changing Demographics and Political Participation, S.K. Ramakrishnan .
Montoya, T. M. (2005). Book Review: Latino Americans and Political Participation: A Reference Handbook, Ed., S.A. Navarro and A.X. Mejia .
Montoya, T. M. (2005). Book Review: Resurgent Voices in Latin America: Indigenous Peoples, Political Mobilization, and Religious Change, Ed., E.L. Cleary and T.J. Steigenga .
Montoya, T. M. (2005). Book Review: Muted Voices: Latinos and the 2000 Elections, Ed., R.O. de la Garza and L. DeSipio .
Montoya, T. M. (2005). Book Review: Mexican Americans and the Law: ¡El Pueblo Unido Jamás Será Vencido!, R.A. Valencia, S.R. García, H. Flores, and J.R. Juárez, Jr. .
Montoya, T. M. (2004). Book Review: Globalization: People, Perspectives, and Progress, W.H. Mott, VI .
Montoya, T. M. (2004). Book Review: Globalization: People, Perspectives, and Progress, W.H. Mott, VI .

Program Affiliation

  • Latin American Studies
    Minor
  • Ethnic Studies
    Minor
  • Ethnic Studies
    Graduate Certificate

Interests

Teaching
  • Ethnic Studies, Chicanx/Latinx Studies, Race, Identity & Film, Chicanx Cinema, Politicizing Hip Hop
Research
  • U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, Borderlands Pedagogy, Citizenship, Ethnic Studies, Chicanx/Latinx Studies, First Generation Student Experiences, Hip Hop

Courses

Fall 2024
ES 160: Introduction To Latino(a)/chicano(a) Studies