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Mission & History

Images from student life around the Texas A&M Campus. (Texas A&M University Division of Marketing & Communications)
Images from student life around the Texas A&M Campus. (Texas A&M University Division of Marketing & Communications)
The Race & Ethnic Studies Institute is dedicated to fostering, celebrating, and producing cutting edge research related to race and ethnic studies among the community of scholars at Texas A&M University and beyond. We aim to be the premier research institute of its kind in Texas and the nation.

Mission

The mission of the Race & Ethnic Studies Institute (RESI) is to:

  • Highlight Texas A&M University’s strengths and academic leadership in research relating to the study of race and ethnicity
  • Support research and scholarship in the humanities, social and behavioral sciences that contribute to the study of race and ethnicity
  • Provide intellectual leadership in advancing interdisciplinary partnerships that pursue research aimed at understanding the salience of race and ethnicity for local and national cultures, public policy, and public discourse, both nationally and globally
  • Cultivate an intellectual environment that fosters supportive mentoring relationships between graduate students and faculty interested in race and ethnic research

History

Founded in 1991, RESI was established to highlight Texas A&M University’s strengths and academic leadership in research relating to the study of race and ethnicity and their various dimensions (e.g., intersections with class, gender, and sexuality; past, present, and future relevance to issues of education, immigration, politics, culture, and health).

RESI was founded by Dr. Gail E. Thomas (1991-98) and Dr. Mitchell F. Rice (1999-2004). Dr. Thomas is Professor of Sociology, Soka University of America, Aliso Viejo, California and Dr. Rice is currently Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University. In 2006 Dr. Joseph Jewell was named interim director until his departure in 2008. Dr. Sarah N. Gatson, Associate Professor in Sociology served as interim director until Dr. Verna M. Keith became the director in January 2010, serving until 2018. Professor of Practice in Sociology Dr. Troy Harden took the helm from October 2020 to May 2023. On June 1, 2023, Dr. Darrel Wanzer-Serrano, Associate Professor of Communication & Journalism and Core Faculty of Latino/a & Mexican American Studies, started his role of Interim Director.

RESI is a unit of the College of Arts & Sciences and is located on the fourth floor of the Liberal Arts & Humanities (LAAH) Building on the Texas A&M University campus.