AAHHE Early Career Award

The AAHHE Early Career Award recognizes faculty or staff members who demonstrate commitment and promise via their actions, research, and service to the Latinx higher education community.

 2023 AAHHE Early Career Award Recipient

Cinthya Salazar, PhD
Assistant Professor
Texas A&M University

Dr. Cinthya Salazar (she, ella) is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration at Texas A&M University. She received her Ph.D. in Higher Education, Student Affairs, and International Education Policy at the University of Maryland. Dr. Salazar’s research focuses on the mechanisms used by undocumented students to access, persist, and succeed in higher education. She uses participatory action research and engages undocumented students as co-researchers to generate localized student success models that can promote their college retention. She received the prestigious Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship to fund her dissertation research in 2019, and the 2020 Bobby Wright Dissertation of the Year award conferred by the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). Dr. Salazar is an active member of ASHE, serving as the co-chair for the Presidential Commission on Undocumented Immigrants. Dr. Salazar’s research and pedagogy are informed by her former experiences as a higher education administrator. She worked as a student affairs educator for over eight years, primarily in college access and retention programs. Currently, Dr. Salazar also serves as the Region III representative for the Undocumented Immigrants and Allies Knowledge Community within the National Association for Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA).

 List of Past Early Career Award Recipients:

• 2022 Vanessa Fonseca-Chávez, PhD and Antonio Duran, PhD 
• 2021 Sarah Rodriguez