Mary Dueñas

Mary Dueñas serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, concurrently holding the position of College Student Personnel Coordinator. Her research examines how social processes shape student experiences and well-being in higher education, with concentrated focus on access, belonging, and equity for Latinx/Hispanic, Black/African American, first-generation, commuter, and STEM student populations.

She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Dr. Dueñas's scholarship centers on three interconnected pillars: (1) Student experiences of belonging and mattering within educational environments and self-defined success metrics; (2) Cultural and familial influences on college trajectories; (3) Impostor syndrome manifestations among Latinx students. Her mixed-methods approach generates actionable insights for institutional practices that foster inclusive campus climates and strengthen student success pathways.

Her distinguished contributions have been recognized through multiple prestigious honors:

• Early Career Award Honorable Mention from American Education Research Association Latina/o/x Research Issues SIG (2025)
• Graduate School Outstanding Doctoral Mentoring Award, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (2025)
• Mena Valdez Outstanding Faculty Award, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Conference (2025)
• Louie M. and Betty M. Phillips Faculty Support in Education Award, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (2024)
• Top 15 Emerging Scholars designation by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education (2024)
• Faculty Fellow, Association of American Hispanics in Higher Education (2023)
• Escaleras Institute Fellow, National Association of Student Personnel Administration (2022)

As an active mentor recognized by the 2025 Doctoral Mentoring Award, she contributes to professional communities through memberships in the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), American Educational Research Association (AERA), and Association of American Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE), where she previously held a Faculty Fellow position.