The institute’s advisory board is comprised of athlete-activists, scholars and executives from SJSU, professional sports and the sports media.
’05 Honorary DoctorateJohn Carlos
Carlos is an Olympic medalist in the 200-meter sprint and member of the Olympic Project for Human Rights. Following the 1968 Olympics, where he participated in an iconic protest for human rights, Carlos pursued professional football and later worked for the United States Olympic Committee.
’64 Sociology, ’16 Honorary DoctorateHarry Edwards
Professor emeritus of sociology at the University of California at Berkeley and founder of the Olympic Project for Human Rights, Edwards is author of The Revolt of the Black Athlete, Edwards is considered to be the father of the sociology of sport.
Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic AffairsJoan Ficke
Joan Ficke served as dean of The Graduate School at Montclair State University (MSU). A professor of community health, Ficke served on the board of the Yogi Berra Museum and is a member of the MSU Athletic Hall of Fame.
General Counsel, San Francisco 49ersHannah Gordon
Hannah Gordon is the general counsel of the San Francisco 49ers and serves as secretary of the 49ers Foundation. Previously, she worked on NFL player contracts, salary cap compliance, the 2011 NFL collective bargaining agreement, and labor issues with the NFL Management Council.
Chief Operating Officer, San Francisco 49ersAl Guido
Al Guido served as the chief operating officer of the San Francisco 49ers, sales manager for the Dallas Cowboys and senior director of ticket sales for the Phoenix Coyotes. He is on the board of City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley and Coach K/Fuqua School of Business.
U.S. Olympic Committee Board MemberStacey Johnson
NCAA champion fencer and U.S. Olympic Committee Board member Johnson, ’80 Public Relations, led an international campaign to bring equity to woman fencers. The first woman to hold a four-year term as president of U.S.A. Fencing’s National Governing Board, Johnson is now president of Valencia College’s East and Winter Park campuses.
CEO, Tower Foundation of SJSU and Vice President for University AdvancementPaul Lanning
CEO of the Tower Foundation of SJSU and Vice President for University Advancement Paul Lanning has more than two decades of higher education leadership experience in public, private and consulting roles. He began his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and has worked with professional and amateur sports organizations in corporate sponsorship, fundraising, media and event management.
Chief Operating Officer, San Jose EarthquakesJared Shawlee
Chief Operating Officer of the San Jose Earthquakes Jared Shawlee previously worked as the Earthquakes’ vice president of sales and strategy and director of corporate partnerships. He is a board member for Joint Venture Silicon Valley and The Silicon Valley Foundation.
’69 Social Science, ’05 Honorary DoctorateTommie Smith
Smith won Olympic gold in track and field at the 1968 Mexico City games, where he participated in an iconic protest for human rights. He coached track and field at Oberlin College, where he also taught sociology, and later at Santa Monica College.
’95 JournalismMarc Spears
Senior writer for ESPN’s The Undefeated and chair of the National Association of Black Journalists Sports Task Force, Spears has written for Yahoo Sports, The Boston Globe, The Denver Post, The Tulsa World, the Los Angeles Daily News and The Courier-Journal.
Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, San Jose SharksJohn Tortora
Chief operating officer, executive vice president and general counsel of San Jose Sharks, LLC, John Tortora previously worked for the National Hockey League in New York, where he helped launch cable TV’s NHL Network.
’47 Biological Science, ’04 Honorary DoctorateYoshihiro Uchida
A legendary judo coach, Uchida built San Jose State’s program into a national powerhouse after serving in a segregated unit in World War II while his own family members were held in internment camps.
SJSU Chief Diversity OfficerKathleen Wong(Lau)
SJSU Chief Diversity Officer Kathleen Wong(Lau) leads the university’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She previously served as the director of the Southwest Center for Human Relations Studies and the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education (NCORE).
The institute’s academic advisory board is comprised of SJSU administrators, faculty and coaches.
SJSU Associate Vice President, Graduate and Undergraduate ProgramsThalia Anagnos
SJSU Associate Vice President of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs Thalia Anagnos is a former engineering professor and 2012 recipient of the Outstanding Professor Award. Anagnos helped organize the SJSU Expanding Your Horizons Conference to interest women in STEM fields for more than 20 years.
Associate Professor, Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social SciencesWilliam Armaline
William Armaline is director of the Human Rights Program at SJSU. An interdisciplinary scholar, Armaline studies social problems related to political economy, environmental sustainability, race theory and anti-racist action, pedagogy and transformative education, inequality and youths, mass incarceration and the war on drugs.
Assistant DirectorCole Armstrong
Cole Armstrong holds a doctoral degree in sport management from Florida State University. His research focuses on management in sport organizations, sport marketing, and the influence of sport on identity development.
Women's Basketball Head CoachJamie Craighead
Prior to coming to San Jose State, Jamie Craighead became the youngest head coach in Division I basketball in her role at Sacramento State. As a collegiate player at the University of Oregon, Craighead led the Ducks to the 2002 WNIT championship after three appearances in the NCAA tournament.
Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic AffairsJoan Ficke
Joan Ficke served as dean of The Graduate School at Montclair State University (MSU). A professor of community health, Ficke served on the board of the Yogi Berra Museum and is a member of the MSU Athletic Hall of Fame.
Assistant Professor, Public RelationsShaun Fletcher
Shaun Fletcher, ’03 Public Relations, has provided communications strategies for Apple, the Volkswagen Group of America and the Center for Health Futures in Florida. His research includes political discourse and rhetorical analysis, as well as cultural communications within healthcare as it relates to African-American men.
Dean, College of Social SciencesWalt Jacobs
Prior to becoming dean of the College of Social Sciences, Walt Jacobs served as a dean and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Jacobs is the author of Speaking the Lower Frequencies: Students and Media Literacy and co-editor of If Classrooms Matter: Progressive Visions of Educational Environments.
Program director, SJSU School of Journalism and Mass CommunicationsPhylis West Johnson
Phylis West Johnson is a researcher and practitioner who studies virtual worlds, augmented reality and virtual reality and their interplay with humanity. The author of five books and more than 100 paper presentations, Johnson is the former editor of the Journal of Radio and Audio Media.
SJSU professor of managementSusanna Khavul
Susanna Khavul’s research focuses on entrepreneurial finance, international entrepreneurship and firm failure. She has previously taught at the University of Texas, Arlington and London Business School. Her articles have appeared in Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of International Business Studies, and Journal of Management Studies.
Professor, Social WorkPeter Lee
Peter Lee’s research includes the psychological development and adjustment of Asian Americans and ethnic groups in the child welfare and mental health systems. The co-creator of Social Workers in the Library, Lee served as associate director of CommUniverCity San Jose and director of SJSU’s “UP” Pre-College program.
Professor, Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social SciencesAmy Leisenring
Amy Leisenring is the faculty director to the Academic Counseling Center for Excellence in the Social Sciences. Her scholarship explores the sociology of higher education and the way race, gender and class-based inequalities shape students’ experiences. Leisenring teaches in the areas of gender, family and qualitative research methods.
Professor, Mexican American StudiesMarcos Pizarro
Marcos Pizarro coordinates MAESETR@S, a social justice organization that implements a transformative education model with Latinx communities. The co-coordinator of the Institute for Teachers of Color Committed to Racial Justice, Pizarro is Faculty-in-Residence for Chicanx-Latinx Student Success at SJSU and co-coordinator of Adelante.
Dean, College of Applied Sciences and ArtsMary Schutten
In addition to her years of experience as a dean and professor of health, physical education, recreation, dance and sports, Mary Schutten coached Division III volleyball, softball and swimming. She became the dean of San Jose State’s College of Applied Sciences and Arts in July 2015.
Assistant Professor, PsychologySusan Snycerski
Trained as a behavioral pharmacologist, Susan Snycerski has taught psychology, research methods, human drug use and abuse, mental retardation, behavioral pharmacology and toxicology, American Psychological Association writing workshops, and clinical trials administration. Snycerski has published empirical, theoretical and review papers, as well as book chapters and encyclopedia chapters.
Jules Boykoff, Pacific University
Akilah R. Carter-Francique, Prairie View A&M University
Brian Gearity, University of Denver
C. Keith Harrison, University of Central Florida
Vikki Krane, Bowling Green State University
David J. Leonard, Washington State University
Ann Pegoraro, Laurentian University (Canada)
John N. Singer, Texas A&M University
Maureen Smith, California State University, Sacramento
Eli Wolff, Brown University
