Current Staff
Rubén Martinez, Director (rmartinez@jsri.msu.edu)
Dr. Rubén O. Martinez became Director of the Julían Samora Research Institute at Michigan State University on Sept. 1, 2007. He is a nationally known scholar with expertise in the areas of higher education, race and ethnic relations, and diversity leadership. His areas of specialization include leadership and institutional change, education and ethnic minorities, youth development, and environmental justice. He was formerly Professor of Public Administration at the University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA), where he also served as Director of the Center for Policy Studies.
Dr. Martinez has published and lectured widely in the areas of leadership, organizational transformation, race and ethnic relations, education of ethnic minorities, and environmental justice. In 1993, he and Adalberto Aguirre, Jr., published a monograph entitled Chicanos in Higher Education. Their most recent work is a monograph titled "Diversity Leadership in Higher Education."
Dr. Martinez previously worked as a consultant on multiple community projects sponsored by, among others, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Ford Foundation, Pfitzer Foundation, Anne E. Casey Foundation, and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. He has also served on higher education accreditation teams and has visited several institutions across the country on accreditation site visits. At UTSA he implemented and coordinated the Hispanic Leadership Program in Agriculture and Natural Resources, a pioneering leadership program involving the U.S. Forest Service, the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, and Texas A&M University System.
In 1997-1998, he served as President of the Western Social Science Association. During 1994-95, he served as an American Council of Education Fellow, studying issues in higher education and serving as an administrative intern in the Office of the President at the University of Southern Colorado.
Dr. Martinez has held a full-time faculty appointment since 1984, and has also been a senior academic administrator, department chairperson, director of two research institutes, director of a learning center, graduate coordinator, faculty sponsor of several student organizations, including La Despedida, Alpha Lambda Delta, MEChA, the Sociology Club, and the Alpha Kappa Delta Honors Society chapter, Zeta of Colorado. He also has served as president of faculty governance organizations, chairperson or member of several student success and advocacy committees, a member of the University of Colorado Faculty Senate, vice-chair of the University of Colorado Faculty Council, chairperson and member of the CU and UCCS Minority Affairs Committee, member of the CU Mission 2000 and Faculty Futures Review Committee, member of the executive board of the Western Social Science Association, member of the site coordinating committee of the National Association for Chicano Studies, and member of the Race Relations Committee of the Pacific Sociological Association. In the community, he has worked with several high schools to develop multicultural learning environments, and has served as chairperson and member of the Colorado Springs Human Relations Commission, member of the Colorado Springs JTPA-Private Industry Council, member of the 4th Judicial District's Diversity Task Force, and member of the Colorado Judicial Advisory Council to the Chief Justice and Administrator of the Colorado Court System. Until recently, he served on the Resource Advisory Board of Kelly USA in San Antonio.
Anita Garza, Staff (garzaa@msu.edu)
Anita Garza is JSRI's Office Manager. She coordinates the day-to-day activities of JSRI, handles financial and clerical responsibilities, and supervises the department's undergraduate workforce. She and her two sons live in Lansing.
Dr. Pilar Horner, Faculty (phorner@msu.edu)
Dr. Pilar Horner holds a joint appointment with the School of Social Work and JSRI. Her areas of specialization include neighborhoods effects, substance use and misuse, history of social welfare policy, and organizations. She received her PhD from the University of Michigan Joint Social Work and Sociology program.
Dr. Joseph M. Guzman, Faculty
Dr. Guzman recently joined the Julian Samora Research Institute in a joint faculty position with the School of Human Resources and Labor Relations. He will teach in the area of personnel economics and conduct research in that area and in Latino entrepreneurship. He holds a Ph.D. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Trained in economics, statistics, and business research, he also holds an MBA from the University of Arizona. Dr. Guzman's previous positions include Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy in the Office of Financial Management and Comptroller, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force in the Office of Manpower and Reserve Affairs, and Director of the Department of Defense Biometric Management Office. He was twice awarded Civilian Service Medals in recognition of his contributions to the Department of Defense. Dr. Guzman is co-founder of the American Society of Hispanic Economists (ASHE).
Anel Guel, Research Assistant
Anel is a graduate student at Michigan State University's CARRS (Community, Agriculture, Recreation, and Resource Studies) program. Her focus lies in international development, specifically within Latin America. Anel holds a B.A. in International Relations from Grand Valley State University, and a minor in Geography using GIS. She enjoys cooking Mexican food, travelling, and world history.
Jean Kayitsinga, Visiting Scholar
Dr. Jean Kayitsinga is a sociologist demographer for JSRI. He received his Ph.D. in sociology at Michigan State University in 1999. His areas of specialization include rural sociology, sociology of families, demography, research methods, and statistical methodologies.
Scott Hansen, Student Employee
Scott Hansen is a departamental aide for JSRI. In the workplace, he is in charge of the upkeep and service of technology to ensure research continues efficiently. Currently a Junior at Michigan State University, he is pursuing a B.S. in Computer Engineering. Scott has a passion for technology and actively attends meetings for the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE), as well as Audio Enthusiasts and Engineers (AEE).
Patti Lyons, Administrative Assistant
Patti recently joined the Julian Samora Research Institute in the capacity of Administrative Assistant. She is a graduate of Cleary University with a major in Business Administration and minor in marketing. She previously worked for a large church in Ann Arbor as financial administrator, working with the Stewardship & Finance board on budgets, fundraising, and will bequests. She is an advocate for children, having started a small 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, which mentored young children in the art of photography. She also started the Grass Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce and served as its third president. As president she worked with the Jackon County FarmFest organization to create a Fall Harvest Festival for their farming community.
Ellen Hayse, Specialist (hayse@msu.edu)
Ellen Hayse is a research and outreach specialist at JSRI. She has been a specialist at MSU for 10 years, serving in the capacity as an outreach coordinator, a project manager for statewide and nationwide projects, and a college research administrator. Her current work at JSRI involves grant development and proposal support, including identifying research grant opportunities and coordinating proposal submissions, developing various proposal elements, and working with MSU Contracts and Grants Administration. She also serves as the research coordinator for a statewide project involving MSU's Department of Psychology
Dr. Daniel Velez Ortiz, Faculty
Dr. Daniel Vélez Ortiz is an Assistant Professor at MSU with a joint appointment in the JSRI and the School of Social Work. His areas of research are in mental health services, community service integration, Latino older adults, and organizational factors. He is from Puerto Rico and has been in the Midwest since he left the island to study at Purdue University where he earned an A.S. in Organizational Leadership and a B.A. in Psychology. He earned an M.S.W. and a Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Bette Avila, Research Assistant
Bette was born and raised in Michigan, attending MSU and obtaining her bachelor's degree in political science and international relations with a focus on Latin America. Upon completing her undergraduate degree, she traveled to New York City where she obtained her master's degree in public administration from Baruch College and worked for NYC's budgeting office. Realizing that budgeting didn't provide her with enough of an opportunity to apply her policy skills to changing the world for the better, Bette returned to MSU, entering the doctoral program in the Department of Sociology. Her personal research interests are domestic violence and the specific hurdles that Latina immigrants face in resolving these conflicts. She is currently working on several projects for JSRI that focus on Latino unemployment in Michigan.
Yan-Liang "Jerry" Yu, Research Assistant
Jerry is a third-year Ph.D. student in Sociology. His areas of interest are demography, life course and quantitative methods, and he is currently working on his own research project, examining the relationship of interracial marriage and individuals' health outcomes, specifically self-rated health and mortality. He is also interested in organizational sociology and social networks, and has taught "Organization and Society" in the Department of Sociology during the summer session for the past two years.
Ricardo Borromeo, Student Employee
Ricardo Borromeo is a sophomore at MSU majoring in humanities prelaw. He participates in the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) Scholars Initiative, which provides support services to students of migrant and seasonal farm worker families. He also works as a departmental aide for JSRI, where he is learning about the challenges facing Latino communities, including immigrants and migrants. Born in Veracruz, Mexico, and raised in the U.S., Ricardo has experienced both Mexican and American cultures, and is bilingual and bicultural. He began working in a chicken processing plant to help support his family at the age of eighteen and has seen firsthand the discrimination and abuse experienced by Latino workers in that industry. Growing up, he also witnessed the many hardships Latino immigrants encounter when coming to, or trying to remain in, the U.S. Ricardo ultimately hopes to obtain a law degree so that he can help address the forms of individual and institutional discrimination suffered by minorities in this country. Last spring he participated in the Alternative Spring Break Program, traveling to Cuernavaca, Mexico, where he helped paint the houses of the poor and provided other forms of assistance. He plans to participate in the program this coming spring as a site leader.
Kyle Marshall, Student Employee
Kyle Marshall is a departmental aide for the JSRI. He is in his final year as a Senior at Michigan State University majoring in Information and Communication Technologies with a Business minor. Upon graduation in May 2012, he hopes to be employed by a Fortune 500 company in the field of Information Technology as a Business Analyst or Project Manager, in which he will continue on to obtain his M.B.A. and Project Management certification.