Belisa González is the Interim Dean of the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College and Professor of Sociology. Dr. González brings nearly two decades of experience advancing academic excellence, inclusive leadership, student success, and institutional transformation.
Originally from San Antonio, Texas, (Go Spurs Go!) Dr. González earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from Emory University in 2006. Her scholarly work has focused on race and ethnicity, social inequality, immigration, intergroup relations, and community-based social change. While completing her doctoral studies in Atlanta, she served as a member and co-chair of the Atlanta Organizing Committee for Undoing Racism. Her experiences as a community organizer and facilitator informed her dissertation research on sustainable cross-racial organizing efforts between African American and Latino communities in the South. This work helped shape her enduring commitment to understanding systems of inequality, building collaborative communities, and fostering leadership grounded in inclusion and social justice.
Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Georgia, Dr. González joined the Ithaca College faculty in 2007. Her research examines relationships within and across communities of color in the United States, with particular attention to identity, discrimination, and collective action. She has contributed to a National Science Foundation-funded study exploring the experiences of middle-class Dominican and Mexican immigrants and has partnered on research assessing dialogue-based approaches to multicultural education and engagement.
Throughout her career, Dr. González has distinguished herself as an innovative educator and mentor. From 2008 to 2018, she directed the Urban Mentorship Initiative, a nationally distinctive program that connected Ithaca College students with middle school students from El Puente Academy in Brooklyn, New York. The initiative combined mentorship, civic engagement, and education on structural inequality, helping prepare students to become effective leaders and agents of positive social change.
In addition to her teaching and scholarship, Dr. González has held senior leadership roles focused on faculty development, equity, inclusion, and organizational effectiveness. As Dean of Faculty, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, she led strategic initiatives that strengthened inclusive excellence across the institution, supported faculty recruitment and development, and fostered campus-wide engagement around belonging and equity. She is also a sought-after facilitator and has co-developed workshops on inclusive hiring practices, navigating difficult dialogues, addressing bias and microaggressions, and creating more equitable educational and workplace environments.