Makini Beck
Assistant Professor
Makini Beck
Assistant Professor
Education
BA, State University College at Old Westbury; MSED, St. Bonaventure University; Ph.D., University of Rochester
Bio
Education:
B.A., American Studies, SUNY College at Old Westbury
M.S.Ed, Social Studies, St. Bonaventure University
Ph.D., Teaching & Curriculum, University of Rochester
Teaching interests:
Social and Cultural Foundations of Education; Research Methods; Urban Poverty; Foundations of Sociology; Hip Hop Music and Culture; Minority Relations
Research Interests:
Dr. Makini Beck focuses her academic inquiry on immigrant women teachers in the U.S., mentoring women of color in academia, narrative inquiry and autoethnographic research methods. She has presented her research at various national and international conferences, and has published her work in handbook chapters and peer-reviewed journals.
Selected Publications
Beck, M., Unterreiner, A., De Four-Babb, J. (2017). Keeping our boots on the ground: Independent scholars maintaining academic identities. A Professing Education: A Journal of The Society of Professors of Education, 16(2), 67-84.
Nganga, C., Beck, M. (2017). The power of dialogue and meaningful connectedness: Conversations between two female scholars. The Urban Review, 49, 551-567.
Beck, M., & Nganga, C. (2016). Narratives of foreign-born teachers: Implications for dialogic leadership for social justice. Educational Leadership Review 16(3), 58-71.
De Four-Babb, J., Pegg, J., & Beck, M. (2015). Reducing intellectual poverty of outsiders within academic spaces through informal peer mentorship. Mentoring and Tutoring Journal, 23(1), 76-93.
Esnard, T., Cobb-Roberts, D., Agosto, V., Karanxha, Z., Beck, M., Wu, K., & Unterreiner, A. (2015). Productive tensions in a cross-cultural peer mentoring women’s network: A social capital perspective. Mentoring and Tutoring Journal, 23(1), 19-36.
Book Chapters
Thorsos, N., Johnannessen, G., Beck, M., Nganga, C., (2016). Synergy, care, and constructive chaos: Understanding the dynamics of an international co-mentoring network. In G. Guzman-Johnannessen (Ed.), Mentoring outside politics, policies, and practices in institutions of higher education. p.57-71. New York, NY: Springer.
Encyclopedia Entries:
Beck, M. (2017). Infertility. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
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Currently Teaching
In the News
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December 8, 2023
RIT leading STEM co-mentoring network
Betsy Dell, professor in the College of Engineering Technology, and Makini Beck, assistant professor in the College of Liberal Arts and the School of Individualized Study, are leading a National Science Foundation-funded project to support minoritized women students in STEM through a co-mentoring network.
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November 9, 2022
RIT’s College of Liberal Arts receives grant to enhance philosophy and communication offerings
RIT’s College of Liberal Arts plans to introduce new and revamped philosophy and communication curricula to help students across the university enhance their expressive and analytic communication skills. This was made possible by a $350,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and The Teagle Foundation.
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March 22, 2022
Division of Diversity and Inclusion launches new study abroad trip to Croatia
The coronavirus pandemic derailed Jude Seunarine’s study abroad plans for more than two years, but he finally got his chance during spring break. Seunarine was one of 10 students who flew to RIT’s campus in Dubrovnik and spent a week travelling the region and learning about its history and culture.