Melissa Faircloth
Melissa Faircloth
Degree: Ph.D
Email: missy86@vt.edu
Previous Education: MA in Sociology, East Carolina University (2014); BS in Business, East Carolina University (2009)
Research Interests: Diversity and Student Experience, Gender, Indigeneity within the Academy, Material Feminist Perspectives Among Indigenous Women, Racial Performativity
Courses Taught: AINS 1004 Intro to American Indian Studies, SOC 1004 Intro to Sociology
Bio: Melissa Faircloth is a PhD candidate in Sociology. Her dissertation research focuses on the role of cultural centers as a form of institutional support for Indigenous students. Other research interests include the intersections of indigeneity and gender and the implications of racial performativity. Originally from North Carolina, she is an enrolled member of the Coharie tribe. Before pursuing her doctorate she worked in academic advising at East Carolina University. As a 2017 Diversity Scholar, Melissa started the first powwow on the Virginia Tech campus. She currently serves as the Director for the American Indian and Indigenous Community center while completing her doctorate part time.
Awards/Honors: 2017 Diversity Scholar - The Graduate School at Virginia Tech
Presentations: 2018 Faircloth M, Adkins Q, Brown D, Tallas N. “Building Space for American Indians In Higher Education presented at the 12th Annual American Indian Women of Proud Nations Conference, Clinton, NC September 2018.
2018 Cook S, Hey M, Faircloth M, Kirwan J, Dieter K. “Indigenizing Academic Space: Eradicating the Vanishing American Motif in the Built Environment, Classroom, and Nature” presented at the 14th Annual Southeast Indian Studies Conference, Pembroke, NC April 2018.