UNC Faculty Named to UC Berkeley’s Visiting Scholars Cohort

The recognition of Lizette Navarrete-Burks as a member of the 2026 Visiting Scholars Cohort at UC Berkeley is founded in support of the research and community building being done by Navarrete-Burks here at UNC, and serves as an opportunity for her to work alongside talented academics from across the country on a variety of collaborative projects.

Only the second cohort of its kind in UC Berkeley history, the Visiting Scholars program’s first group brought together scholars from institutions including Morehouse College, Talladega College, The City College of New York, and The University of the West Indies in 2024.

“Receiving this recognition has been especially meaningful because of the strong support I’ve received from my department; Leadership, Policy & Development within the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences,” Navarrete-Burks said. “I’m also especially grateful to Chelsie Romulo, this year’s new faculty development director for CETL, whose support during this first year at UNC was instrumental in helping me build community and continue this work.”

Navarrete-Burks will spend a fully-funded, month-long residency at UC Berkeley, working alongside a research team from the Center for Research on Expanding Educational Opportunity (CREEO).

“We’ve started to think about this work less as professional development and more as reparative infrastructure,” said Jacquelyn Ollison, Director of CREEO in an article on UC Berkeley’s website. “Not just offering opportunity, but actively removing barriers. That means financial support, housing and travel assistance, access to R1 spaces, and holistic supports that acknowledge the realities faculty are navigating, especially in the current climate.”