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M. Isabel Ayala

M. Isabel Ayala
  • Associate Professor
  • Department of Sociology
  • PhD Sociology, Texas A&M University, 2007
  • M.S. Sociology, Texas A&M University, 2003
  • 414B Berkey Hall
  • 509 E. Circle Drive
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • 517-353-6614

CURRICULUM VITAE

Isabel Ayala

BIOGRAPHY

María Isabel Ayala is an Associate Professor of Sociology and former Director of the Chicano/Latino Studies Program at Michigan State University. Her research agenda is grounded in an intentional refusal of monolithic narratives about Latinx communities, examining how complex and uneven processes of racialization intersect with sociodemographic contexts to shape lived experiences and meaning-making. Centering the agency and agentive practices of racialized Latinx communities, her current scholarship foregrounds flourishing and joy as decolonial interventions within higher education and speaks of the critical role of Ethnic Studies in advancing student success. Adopting strength-based and justice-oriented approaches, Ayala highlights intra-group diversity, community-generated forms of capital, and resilient practices that reshape physical, symbolic, and social spaces. Her humanistic commitments inform her teaching and leadership, and she is a 2022–2023 OFASD Leadership Fellow and a 2020–2021 Big Ten Academic Alliance Academic Leadership Program Fellow.

ASSOCIATED PROGRAMS

Chicano/Latino Studies Program

PUBLICATIONS

Ayala, María Isabel, Magaly Ordoñez and Angelica Ruvalcaba. 2025. “Framing of Latinx Education: An Examination of Spanish Language Newspapers.” Journal of Latinos and Education. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2024.2444933
 
Ayala, Maria Isabel. 2024. “Understanding Latinxs Presence in the United States.” Pp. 187-212 Race and Ethnicity: Sociology in Action, 2nd Edition (Revised edition) edited by Kathleen Odell Korgen, Maxine P. Atkinson. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
 
Ayala, María Isabel and Dana Chalupa. 2022. “Racial Microaggressions and Coping Mechanisms Among Latina/o College Students.” Sociological Forum.             
https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12785
 
Ayala, María Isabel and Christian Ramirez. 2019. “Coloniality and Latinx College Students’ Experiences Equity and Excellence in Education. DOI: 10.1080/10665684.2019.1635542
 
Ayala, María Isabel. 2019. “Bargaining Power and Cumulative Fertility: Exploring Inter-Racial Differences.” Border-Lines XI: 110-132.
 
Ayala, María Isabel and Sheila Contreras. 2018. “It’s Capital! Understanding Latina/o Presence in Higher Education.” Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. DOI: 10.1177/2332649218757803
 
Ayala, María Isabel. 2018. “The rationalization of college attainment through a color-blind lens among Latina(o) students.” Journal of Latinos and Education. DOI:10.1080/15348431.2018.1478296
 

LINKS

Google Scholar