CEHD is pleased to announce that Professor Rashné Jehangir has been named Assistant Dean for Education Opportunity Programs. In this position, she is responsible for providing leadership, development, and oversight of units in CEHD whose focus is to enhance the education opportunities of students who have traditionally been underrepresented in higher education.
She works closely with college leadership to ensure that all units within CEHD work effectively as a team and collaborate broadly with faculty, staff, and students to advance excellence and advocacy in serving the needs of underrepresented communities. Her role aims to support CEHD students but is designed to continue to build broad coalitions across colleges, state institutions, and community partners.
“I am thrilled to welcome Rashné to this new role! I look forward to working with her to deepen partnerships, extend networks, and forge new paths to enhance opportunities for all students, especially those underrepresented in the academy,” says Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, Diversity, and International Initiatives Nicola Alexander. “We are delighted that Rashné has taken on this leadership position and will contribute to elevating education opportunity programs across the college and wider university community.”
Jehangir currently holds the Robert Beck Chair of Ideas in Education in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development. She is also the Horace T. Morse-University Distinguished Professor for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education and the inaugural founding director of the First Gen Institute.
She holds a BA in psychology from Lawrence University and an MA in counseling and student personnel psychology and a PhD in higher education from the University of Minnesota. Her research centers around access and equity, with a focus on the experiences of first-generation students; students of color; and immigrant, poor, and working-class college students, faculty, and practitioners.
“Over two decades ago, I began my career in higher education working in TRIO SSS and McNair Scholars Programs here at UMN,” Jehangir says. “The spirit and ethos of education opportunity programs shaped my scholarship and practice and is embedded in the design of the First Gen Institute. To take on this role, is to come full circle—I am delighted to come home again in this new capacity as Assistant Dean for Education Opportunity Programs!”
