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Blanca Elizabeth Vega

Associate Professor, Educational Leadership, College for Education and Engaged Learning

Office:
University Hall 2191
Email:
vegab@montclair.edu
Phone:
973-655-3212
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Dr. Blanca Elizabeth Vega was born and raised in New York City to Ecuadorian immigrant parents. She currently serves as an associate professor and graduate program coordinator for the MA in Higher Education at Montclair State University. Dr. Vega earned her Ed.D. from the prestigious Higher and Postsecondary Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University.

With nearly 25 years of administrative, research, and teaching experience in various higher education settings, Dr. Vega transitioned to academia as a faculty member and has significantly contributed to the Master of Arts in Higher Education program at Montclair State University since 2017. As the coordinator of Montclair State’s Master of Arts program in Higher Education, she has been instrumental in guiding the program's development, leading it from its origins as a concentration to its establishment as a stand-alone program in 2020. Under her leadership, the program now offers critical courses such as Leadership and Supervision in Higher Education, Economics and Finance of Higher Education, and Diversity and Equity in Higher Education, which aim to provide higher education professionals with knowledge, skills, and experiences in equity-mindedness and racial responsiveness.

Dr. Vega's research is rooted in a deep commitment to equity, access, and success for underserved populations in higher education. As a testament to this commitment, Dr. Vega has been awarded several national grants to pursue critical research agendas. In 2022, Dr. Vega was awarded a national grant award from the Spencer Foundation to explore the experiences of higher education and student affairs professionals with policies related to undocumented students. Additionally, Dr. Vega was awarded the Channing Briggs Foundation grant from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) to organize training focused on racialized organizational conflict and a grant from the National Association of Campus Activities to explore Latine student leadership in HSIs. Finally, Dr. Vega was selected as a Higher Education Academic Leadership (HEAL) Fellow at Montclair State University, where she will explore racially responsive and equity-minded frameworks for new HSI faculty. Dr. Vega's body of work critically examines the pervasive impact of racism on the experiences and outcomes of students, administrators, and faculty alike, solidifying her role as a leading voice in these vital areas of study.


AWARDS
2023 - HEAL (Higher Education Academic Leadership) Fellow. Montclair State University. Exploring Racial Responsiveness in Faculty Development.

2023 - 1619 Project Education Network. HBCUs Matter: A K-20 Collaborative Project for The Pulitzer Center’s 1619 Project Education Network

2023 - National Association of Campus Activities. HSI Training and Student Leadership: Consciousness and Character

2023 - Channing Briggs Foundation grant from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA). Racialized Organizational Conflict Training for Higher Education Professionals

2022 - Spencer Foundation Small Grant. Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) professionals experiences working with undocumented students and related policies

2020 - Research Mentoring Grant, awarded by the National Academy of Education and Spencer Foundation


PUBLICATIONS
2025
Vega, B. E. (2025). An UndocuCrit Analysis of New Jersey Higher Education Leaders’ Statements of Support for Undocumented Students. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 1–17.

Vega, B. E., & Sanchez Swain, J. (2025). An UndocuEquity Approach to Promoting a Sense of Belonging for Undocumented Students. New Directions for Higher Education, 209, 15–26.

Vega, B. E., Ali, D., & Lowe, D. (2025). Patchwork Protections: A Pilot Self-Study of the Public Policy Division (PPD) of NASPA in the Anti-Diversity, Equity …. Journal of College and Character, 26(1), 12–25.

2024
Vega, B. E., Talamo, A., & Coleman, C. (2024). The Importance of Mental Health Training in Faculty Development. ACPA Developments, 21(2).

Vega, B. E. (2024). Racial conflict in a higher education policy vacuum. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 32.

2022
Vega, B. E., Nienhusser, H. K., & Carquin-Hamichand, M. S. (2022). “When I would hurt”: Undocumented students’ responses to obstacles faced during the college choice process. The Educational Forum, 86(3), 237–252.

Vega, B. E., Liera, R., & Boveda, M. (2022). Hispanic-serving institutions as racialized organizations: Elevating intersectional consciousness to reframe the “H” in HSIs. AERA Open, 8, 23328584221095074.

Vega, B. E. (2022). Becoming first-generation. Journal for Multicultural Education, 16(2), 171–183.

Vega, B. E. (2022). Serving Black communities at Hispanic-serving institutions. About Campus, 27(1), 10–19.

Vega, B. E. (2022). Delegitimizing race. Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity (JCSCORE), 8(2), 41–77.

2021
Vega, B. E. (2021). “What Is the Real Belief on Campus?” Perceptions of Racial Conflict at a Minority-Serving Institution and a Historically White Institution. Teachers College Record, 123(9), 144–170.

Leon, R. A., & Vega, B. E. (2021). Perceptions of state-regulated reform: Desire, dedication, and uncertainty in policy implementation. Higher Education Policy, 34(3), 622–642.

Vega, B. E., & Rodas, E. I. R. (2021). Centering Central American students in higher education research: A proposal for Central American student self-report (CASSR). In Studying Latinx/a/o Students in Higher Education, 137–148.

Vega, B. E. (2021). Scholar mami strategies: Advancing in the teaching‐oriented institution at mid‐career. New Directions for Higher Education, 193(194), 21–28.

2019
Vega, B. E. (2019). Lessons From an Administrative Closure: The Curious Case of Black Space at an MSI. Frontiers in Education.

2016
Nienhusser, H. K., Vega, B. E., & Carquin, M. S. (2016). Undocumented students’ experiences with microaggressions during their college choice process. Teachers College Record, 118(2), 1–33.

Vega, B. E., Delima, D., & Williams, K. E. (2016). The Importance of Racial Literacy and Racial Dialogues in Emerging Race Scholar Identity Development for Graduate Students of Color. In Envisioning Critical Race Praxis in Higher Education.

2015
Kiyama, J. M., Museus, S. D., & Vega, B. E. (2015). Cultivating campus environments to maximize success among Latino and Latina college students. New Directions for Higher Education, 2015(172), 29–38.

Nienhusser, H. K., Vega, B. E., & Carquin, M. S. (2015). Bridging the Gap: Guiding the College Search of Undocumented Students. Journal of College Admission.

Vega, B. E. (2015). Beyond incidents and apologies: Toward a new understanding of campus racial conflict. Doctoral Dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University.

2013
Vega, B. E. (2013). Occupying the Academy: Just How Important Is Diversity Work in Higher Education? Review in The Review of Higher Education, 36(4), 568–569.

Dougherty, K. J., Natow, R. S., Bork, R. H., Jones, S. M., & Vega, B. E. (2013). Accounting for higher education accountability: Political origins of state performance funding. Teachers College Record, 115(1), 1–50.

2012
Museus, S. D., Ravello, J. N., & Vega, B. E. (2012). The campus racial culture: A critical race counterstory. In Creating Campus Cultures, 28–45.

Dougherty, K. J., Natow, R. S., & Vega, B. E. (2012). Popular but unstable: Explaining why state performance funding systems in the United States often do not persist. Teachers College Record, 114(3), 1–41.

2011
Dougherty, K. J., Natow, R. S., Hare, R. J., Jones, S. M., & Vega, B. E. (2011). The Politics of Performance Funding in Eight States: Origins, Demise, and Change. Community College Research Center.

2010
Dougherty, K. J., Natow, R. S., Hare, R. J., & Vega, B. E. (2010). The Political Origins of Higher Education Performance Funding in Six States. CCRC Brief, No. 47.

Dougherty, K. J., Natow, R. S., Hare, R. J. H., & Vega, B. E. (2010). The Political Origins of Higher Education Performance Funding in Six States.

Dougherty, K. J., Nienhusser, H. K., & Vega, B. E. (2010). Undocumented immigrants and state higher education policy: The politics of in-state tuition eligibility in Texas and Arizona. The Review of Higher Education, 34(1), 123–173.

Dougherty, K. J., Natow, R. S., Bork, R. J. H., & Vega, B. E. (2010). The political origins of state-level performance funding for higher education: Florida, Illinois, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington.





MEDIA APPEARANCES and PUBLIC SCHOLARSHIP

Invited Guest on Que Pasa HSI? Hosted by Dr. Gina Ann Garcia https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast-201

Invitation to appear on The View from Venus a podcast related to the University of Venus blog at Inside Higher Ed: https://podcasts.apple.com/pt/podcast/7-4-racial-conflict-and-color-evasion-with-blanca-vega/id1487375227?i=1000607765780

Invited Guest on Encuentros Politicos hosted by Dr. Edwin Mayorga: “Higher education, futuros under the Biden/Harris Administration”: (March 26, 2021)

Invited Columnist: A look forward: How the 1776 report protects Trump and other racists. January 2021. Latino Rebels. https://www.latinorebels.com/2021/01/29/1776report/

Invited Columnist: Call me Doctora. December 2020. Latino Rebels. https://www.latinorebels.com/2020/12/18/callmedoctora/

Invited Guest on Encuentros Politicos hosted by Dr. Edwin Mayorga: “Radio: Racial Complexities of College Admissions, a convo w/ Drs. OiYan Poon and Blanca Vega” (April 14, 2019)

Quoted in Slate: “How Exactly Will SAT Test Takers’ “Adversity Score” Be Calculated?” (May 21, 2019)

Quoted in The New York Times: “Colorblind Notions Aside, Colleges Grapple with Racial Tension” (February 24, 2014)

Parenting and the Pandemic - Wallet Hub: https://wallethub.com/blog/school-reopening-survey/78092/#expert=blanca-e-vega



Specialization

Dr. Vega specializes in higher education access, equity, and success. Dr. Vega has publications in the areas of higher education finance, undocumented immigrants and policymaking, campus racial climate and culture, Minority Serving Institutions and racialized organizational conflict; and racial ideologies in Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) and predominantly white Institutions (PWI).