Varaxy Yi Borromeo

Dr. Varaxy Yi Borromeo is an Associate Professor of Higher Education Administration and Leadership at California State University, Fresno. She serves as a core faculty member in the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership and directs the Kremen Research Center. Her academic journey includes a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Denver, an M.L.I.S. from San Jose State University, and dual bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration and English from the University of the Pacific.

Dr. Yi’s research focuses on advancing equity for racially minoritized communities, particularly Southeast Asian Americans and refugees. Her three major research areas include racial equity frameworks, racialized campus environments, and institutional change for equity. She has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of Higher Education and Review of Educational Research, and serves as Communications Chair for the Association for the Study of Higher Education. She is a member of the SEAAster Scholars Collective, a group advancing knowledge with and for Southeast Asian American communities.

Her work emphasizes transformative institutional change through studies on racial climate, data disaggregation, and organizational equity. She has received the NASPA Emerging Faculty Leader award and is a Gates Millennium Scholar. Dr. Yi teaches courses in higher education leadership, assessment, and qualitative research methods at both undergraduate and doctoral levels.

Her advising includes mentoring students like Yang, Moua, and Vang in studies addressing Southeast Asian American student invisibility in community colleges. She collaborates on initiatives such as the SEAAs@AANAPISIs Project, contextualizing support for underrepresented students at Asian American-serving institutions.