Himanee Gupta, Ph.D. Named SUNY Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Fellow

(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - June 21, 2023) — Empire State University Professor Himanee Gupta, Ph.D. was recently named a SUNY Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Fellow. She is one of only 15 faculty named to the fellowship SUNY-wide.

SUNY Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Fellows are faculty who are recognized content experts in diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice (DEISJ). DEISJ Fellows will help shape the new SUNY DEISJ general education knowledge and skills area by mentoring faculty across SUNY who are developing or seeking to develop courses that fulfill the DEISJ knowledge and skills area.

DEISJ Fellows must have academic content expertise to ensure the academic integrity and rigor of courses fulfilling the DEISJ knowledge and skills area. In addition to working with faculty to shape DEISJ courses, Gupta will be responsible for holding weekly virtual office hours for SUNY faculty mentees, helping to develop a centralized DEISJ resources library.

Her role as a DEISJ Fellow begins in July 2023 and runs for one calendar year.

Gupta is the author of Muncie, India(na): Middletown and Asian America (University of Illinois Press, 2018), which explores the racial, ethnic, and religious diversity and tensions woven into Midwest American communities. Her current project, A Hip Hop of Food, offers philosophical and pragmatic approaches to social justice through food security at the grassroots level. She has published numerous articles, creative essays, and personal reflections to peer-reviewed journals, academic blogs, and literary publications. Most recently, she contributed four essays to the open-education resource text Hidden Voices: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in United States History, published by the NYC Department of Education.

In addition to teaching and research activities, Gupta helps run a small working farm and supports farmers' markets, food pantries, and other food and farming organizations in the Saratoga area.

Gupta completed her doctorate in political science and master’s degree in American Studies at the University of Hawai‘i and her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University.

“I feel incredibly honored to be chosen to a DEISJ Fellow. Questions of diversity, inclusion, and justice have always played a central role in my teaching and research. These interests are infused throughout my courses and research on American history, Asian American history, community sustainability, and Hip Hop, as well as through my writing and community activities,” Gupta said.