Ileana Nachescu

Ileana Nachescu (she/ea) is an Associate Teaching Professor and Associate Undergraduate Director in the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department at Rutgers University's School of Arts and Sciences. She serves as co-chair of the New Jersey Women's and Gender Studies Consortium alongside Cecilia Colbeth, and participates in multiple university committees including the University Committee for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the Executive Council of Rutgers AAUP-AFT.

Her educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Global Gender and Sexuality Studies from University at Buffalo
• M.A. in Romanian Literature and Intertextuality from University of the West, Timisoara
• B.A. in English/Romanian Language and Literacy from University of the West, Timisoara

Nachescu is a scholar of intersectional and transnational feminism with research interests spanning histories of activism, African American women's intellectual history, whiteness and critical race theory, and transnational feminism with a focus on Eastern Europe. She co-founded the first Women's Studies Center at her alma mater in Romania. Her interdisciplinary work bridges feminist theory, critical race studies, and Eastern European studies, with recent projects examining environmental racism and deforestation in Romania.

Nachescu has received numerous awards and fellowships for her scholarly and teaching excellence:

• Humanities Plus Grant from Rutgers University (2024, 2019)
• Excellence in Teaching Award from University at Buffalo (2004)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship at Rice University (2006-2008)
• Research Council Grant from Rutgers University (2023, 2020)
• Doctoral Support Grant from Open Society Institute (2003)

As an award-winning educator, Nachescu received two Humanities Plus grants to integrate zines and podcasts into feminist pedagogy. She directs the WGSS Honors Program, teaching the Honors Research Seminar (WGSS 497-498) and mentoring students who have won First and Second Prize in the NJ WGS Consortium Undergraduate Research Colloquium. Her innovative teaching approaches have been recognized with multiple teaching awards, demonstrating her commitment to engaging pedagogical practices that center student voices and intersectional perspectives.

Nachescu is actively engaged in academic communities through her service on the editorial board of IRW's journal Rejoinder and the Advisory Board of the Center for European Studies. Her scholarly work has been translated into Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, and Romanian, reflecting her international impact. She has recently resumed writing in Romanian to participate in current debates about intersectionality in Romanian culture, demonstrating her ongoing commitment to transnational feminist dialogue.