Vijay Kanagala

Vijay Kanagala (Ph.D., Iowa State University) is an Associate Professor of Secondary and Higher Education and teaches in the Higher Education in Student Affairs Program, McKeown School of Education at Salem State University.  A former student affairs practitioner with extensive experience in multicultural student affairs, social justice education, and diversity programming and training, Dr. Kanagala’s primary research engages with three critical areas of higher education.  These include issues related to 1) college access and success of first-generation, limited-income students, 2) collegiate experiences of students of color, and 3) employing spirituality and contemplative education/pedagogy in student affairs preparation programs.  

A thought leader in contemplative pedagogy and education, Dr. Kanagala endeavors to connect the heart and the mind of each learner in a classroom community to ensure holistic student development. His teaching and learning pedagogy is not only about working with students to cultivate skills and knowledge to be competent student affairs professionals, but is also about creating a transformative classroom experience that invites an ethic of care, compassion and empathy while addressing social-racial-economic-environmental-justice issues.  

Collaborating with researchers nationally, Dr. Kanagala has successfully secured funding worth over $6.5 million for several major educational research projects. In September 2023, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Dr. Kanagala and colleagues $2.3 million to advance collaborations for equity in marine and climate science. The three year project, titled Advancing Collaborations for Equity in Marine and Climate Sciences (ACE-MCS), is a partnership between multiple institutions and will examine what processes are employed for developing equity-driven and anti-racist educational collaborations, infrastructures, and pathways in marine and climate science. This research project is investigating the Woods Hole Collaborative Network (WHCN), a multi-organizational collaboration between six predominantly white institutions located in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The research team will emphasize Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) storytelling and standpoint centering through qualitative inquiry alongside organizational and historical analysis to develop a replicable and scalable model for equity-centered support in STEM collaborations.

As a co-founder of the Racial Equity Research Collective, Dr. Kanagala is collaborating with researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute on another NSF funded project to develop a holistic, humanistic, and evolving ecosystem for climate and marine science education - BRinging together Allies In Diversifying Climate and Marine Careers (BRAID-CMC). 

Additionally, Dr. Kanagala serves as an advisory committee member of Partners Aligned To Heighten broad participation in STEM (PATHS), a National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP), which awarded $1.2 million to University of Massachusetts, Boston to examine pathways into engineering for students with marginalized identities.

In March 2024, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education awarded Dr. Kanagala, Dr. Leslie Duhaylongsod, and Dr. Nicole Harris $192,606 to diversify the educator workforce. 

Through these projects, Kanagala has strongly advocated for the use of asset-based frameworks in educational research (rather than deficit-based frameworks) to ensure that institutions of higher education employ student success frameworks that consider the diverse array of cultural wealth students bring to college. He is co-author and co-editor of the book, The Latino Student's Guide to STEM Careers, which focuses on the importance of STEM education for Latinx students and provides a comprehensive array of the most current information students and families need to make informed decisions about entering and succeeding in a STEM career. In addition to several book chapters, Kanagala's scholarship has been published in the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education and Equity & Excellence in Education.

Prior to his arrival at Salem State University, Kanagala worked at University of Vermont (Assistant Professor, Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration Program, 2014-2019), University of Texas at San Antonio (Post-doctoral Fellow, Center for Research and Policy in Education and Lecturer, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, 2011-2014). 

Gogue, D. T-L., Poon, O. A., Maramba, D. C., & Kanagala, V. (2021). Inclusions and exclusions: Racial categorizations and panethnicities in higher education. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. DOI: 10.1080/09518398.2021.1982045

Kanagala, V. & Oliver, S. T. (2020). Our younger selves: QPOC student affairs Professionals supporting QPOC students. Equity & Excellence in Education. 52(4), 409-423, DOI: 10.1080/10665684.2019.1705204

Rendón, L.I., Nora, A., Bledsoe, R., & Kanagala, V. (2020). Científicos Latinx: The untold story of underserved student success in STEM fields of study. In S.J. Paik, S.M. Kula, J.J. Gonzalez, V.V. Gonzalez (Eds.), High-achieving Latino students: Successful pathways toward college and beyond. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Rendón, L.I., Kanagala, V., & Bledsoe, R.? (2018). Shattering the deficit grand narrative: Toward a culturally-validating Latino student success framework. In A.G. de los Santos, L.I. Rendón, G.F. Keller, A. Acereda, E.M. Bensimon, & R.J. Tannenbaum (Eds.), New directions: Assessment and preparation of Hispanic college students. (pp. 223-242). Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press.

Rendón, L.I. & Kanagala, V. (2017). The Latino student’s guide to STEM careers. Westport, CT: Greenwood.

Kanagala, V., Rendón, L.I., & Nora, A. (2016). A framework for understanding Latino/a cultural wealth. Diversity & Democracy. 19(1). Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities. 

Rendón, L.I., Nora, A., & Kanagala, V. (2015). Ventajas/Assets y Conocimientos/Knowledge: Leveraging Latin@ strengths to foster student success.  In J. Mendez, F.A. Bonner, II., J. Mendez-Negrete, & R.T. Palmer (Eds.), Hispanic serving institutions in American higher education: Their origin, and present and future challenges. (pp. 92-118). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

Rendón, L.I., Nora, A., & Kanagala, V. (2014). Ventajas/Assets y Conocimientos/Knowledge: Leveraging Latin@ strengths to foster student success. San Antonio, Texas: Center for Research and Policy in Education, The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Rendón, L.I. & Kanagala, V. (2014). Embracing contemplative pedagogy in a culturally diverse classroom. In B.F. Tobolowsky (Ed.), Paths to learning: Teaching for engagement in college. (pp. 61-76). Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.

Vega, C. & Kanagala, V. (2021, April). Latino college student athletes as Nepantleras: An identity development model. Paper presented virtually at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. [Virtual Conference due to COVID-19 Pandemic]

Kanagala, V. (2020, November). Being Latinx, becoming cientificos: Testimonios of STEM success. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education [Virtual Conference due to COVID-19 Pandemic]

Kanagala, V. (2020, November). Being and becoming: A model of consciousness development among Desi-Asian Indian American Generation 1.5 students. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education [Virtual Conference due to COVID-19 Pandemic]

Kanagala, V., & Oliver. S. T. (2019, November). The spaces in between: QTPOC student affairs professionals navigating campus environments and supporting QTPOC students. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education in Portland, OR.

Kanagala, V., & Vega, C. (2019, November). Latino college student athletes as Nepantleras: Fostering academic success and athletic identity. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education in Portland, OR.