CUNY-IIE will host the virtual launch of its new resource: Teaching at the Intersection of Immigration and Education - A Guide for Higher Education Faculty.
Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Time: 12:00 - 1:00 pm ET
Authored by Rachel Duff and Ariana Mangual Figueroa, this guide is aimed at supporting higher education faculty who seek to integrate themes of immigration into their education courses. Participants will hear from CUNY-IIE Faculty Fellows who have redesigned their syllabi with immigration and education in mind.
Although one in three K-12 students in New York State is of immigrant origin, immigration is not a required topic for educator certification in the state. This guide provides faculty across educational content areas with materials to develop and enhance their coursework for pre-service and in-service educators, ensuring they are better prepared to support immigrant-origin students.
Our panelists will include:
CUNY-IIE Faculty Fellows:
Fumio Someki, College of Staten Island, CUNY
Imani Irving Perez, Hunter College, CUNY
René Antrop-González, SUNY New Paltz
Policymakers:
Senator Robert Jackson, NY State Senator for District 31
William Murphy, Deputy Commissioner of Higher Education, New York State Education Department
The webinar will be moderated by:
Ariana Mangual Figueroa, Associate Investigator, CUNY-IIE
Rachel Duff, Project Researcher, CUNY-IIE
Speaker bios:
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René Antrop-González is Professor of Teaching and Learning/New Language Education in the School of Education at SUNY at New Paltz. Prior to this faculty position, he was dean of the School of Education at the same institution. Previous to this appointment, he was Dean and Professor of Urban Education at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Minnesota from 2015-2020 after having served two years as the Goizueta Foundation Chair in Education at Dalton State College in Dalton, Georgia. Before his work at Dalton State, he was Professor of Second Language Education and Director of the Second Language Education Program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for 12 years. René also taught ESL in elementary and secondary schools in Puerto Rico and the United States.
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Rachel Duff is an educator, organizer, and current PhD student in Urban Education at the Graduate Center, CUNY. She is from the Deep South and Puerto Rico, two integral parts of her positionality. She is a former educator of English for emergent multilingual students and has worked in education policy and research in both Washington, DC and Jacksonville, FL. Her research interests include understanding how early career educators develop critical consciousness and subsequently how critically conscious teachers impact student belonging and family engagement for newcomer and/or undocumented youth. Rachel obtained her bachelor’s in English Education at the University of North Florida and master’s in Educational Transformation at Georgetown University. She has organized in Northeast Florida with a Black-led grassroots organization fighting for self-determination and freedom.
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Imani Irving Perez serves as the faculty clinical experiences coordinator and doctoral lecturer in the Early Childhood Special Education program at Hunter College. She began her career as a preschool teaching assistant, teacher, and later, teacher-director at Amy’s Preschool and Playgroup, in Brooklyn, NY. Over the years, she has worked as an early interventionist for young children and families. Dr. Irving-Perez has also served as a second-grade and third-grade teacher at the Brooklyn Charter School, an elementary school assistant principal at Success Academy Charter Schools Network, and a special education preschool director for the Research Foundation for the State University of New York-Downstate. Before becoming a full-time Lecturer, Dr. Irving worked as an adjunct lecturer at several universities in New York City.
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Senator Robert Jackson represents District 31 in the New York State Senate. In his first elected position as School Board President, he launched the Campaign for Fiscal Equity school funding lawsuit, walked 150 miles to Albany to highlight the cause, and won a court judgment that awarded $16 billion for NYC public schools. He previously served in the New York City Council from 2002 to 2013, representing the 7th district in Manhattan. In his years on the City Council, he sponsored the Small Business Jobs Survival Act and fought for justice and equality. As a State Senator, he has championed public education, workers rights, climate justice, gun safety, and more.
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Ariana Mangual Figueroa is a Professor in the Ph.D. Programs in Urban Education and Latin American, Iberian, and Latino Cultures at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Dr. Mangual Figueroa is an educational anthropologist who explores the ways in which the everyday lives of children and adults who belong to mixed-status families and communities are shaped by their legal and cultural citizenship. Her work has appeared in journals including Educational Researcher, American Educational Research Journal, and Anthropology & Education Quarterly. Her first book – Knowing Silence: How Children Talk About Immigration Status in School – was published in 2024 by the University of Minnesota Press. You can read it in print and online here at Manifold.
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William Murphy is Deputy Commissioner for Higher Education at the NYS Education Department, oversees the Office of College and University Evaluation (OCUE), and offices that coordinate teacher certification; personnel review and accountability for teachers and school leaders; and postsecondary opportunity, access and early college HS programs. Before his appointment as Deputy Commissioner, Dr. Murphy served in various leadership roles at NYSED, including Director of Professional Education where he led teams responsible for evaluating higher education programs for professional licensure at public and private colleges and universities in New York State and internationally. He holds a Ph.D. from the University at Albany, a Master of Science in Education (M.S. Ed.) from Baruch College, and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from Le Moyne College.
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Fumio Someki is an Associate Professor of Educational Studies the College of Staten Island. Dr. Someki has rich experiences both in the United States and Japan in assessing and providing services for students with disabilities, such as ASD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Her work on assessment also includes the translation of books on assessment, such as "Essentials of Assessment Report Writing," written by her mentor, Dr. Alan Kaufman (University of Connecticut). Dr. Someki believes that solid assessment (both formal and informal) holds the key to developing effective individual education plans (IEPs) and intervention planning for all students. As a former Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Someki believes in the importance of understanding and embracing diverse cultural/ethnic backgrounds to truly understand all students.
