Rate My Professor Socorro Zaragoza

Socorro Zaragoza serves as Professor of Spanish in the Department of Language & Cultural Studies, Anthropology & Sociology at Eastern Kentucky University. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from Purdue University and a B.A. from Universidad de Colima, Mexico. Dr. Zaragoza's research specializations include Afro-Latino literature and culture, Latino/Chicano studies, second language acquisition, and higher education equity and inclusion. Her Ph.D. dissertation, "Construyendo identidades: Mujeres Afro-descendientes en la Nueva España (siglos XVI-XVIII)," examines the construction of identities among Afro-descendant women in colonial New Spain.

At Eastern Kentucky University, Dr. Zaragoza served as Presidential Fellow for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion from 2020 to 2021. She received the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award from the College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences in Fall 2024 and the President’s Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award in April 2023. She is also a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. Her key publications are "My Symphonic Self: A Holistic Approach to Career Readiness," co-authored with José Juan Gómez-Becerra and Abbey Poffenberger (April 2023), in Russel Carpenter and Kevin Dvorak (Eds.), "Guide to Relationship-Rich Education in Teaching and Learning," 2022 Pedagogicon Proceedings, Encompass/EKU Open; "Training University Tutors to Work with Bilingual Students," co-authored with S. Incera, H. Hamilton, A. Marroquin, T. Napier, L. Vance, A. Sweat, and J. Jenkins (March 2023), in Pedagogicon Proceedings; and "Imágenes e Imaginario de las Mujeres Afro-descendientes a través de los documentos coloniales en la Nueva España" (2010), Graffylia: Revista de la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, BUAP, Puebla, vol. 7, pp. 72-80. Dr. Zaragoza's work advances cultural representation, language pedagogy, and inclusive higher education practices.