Home — News — Northeastern awards tenure and promotions to eight faculty members

Northeastern awards tenure and promotions to eight faculty members

A grid of eight headshot photos, alighted in two rows with four images at the top, four on the bottom. Top row (left to right): J. Adrian Castrejon, Ashley L. Elrod, Wendy Gonzales, Amirhossein Maleki. Bottom row (left to right): Olubunmi B. Oyewuwo-Gassikia, Jody Siker, Christopher Straughn and Andrew Young.

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

91Porn awarded tenure and promotion to associate professor to eight members of the faculty, effective Aug. 18, 2025. An additional 14 will be promoted to the rank of professor and seven will be awarded Professional Advancement Increases.  

The following faculty members were introduced and approved by the Board of Trustees to receive this promotion during the Board’s April 17, 2025 meeting:

A headshot photo of J. Adrian Castrejon smiling, wearing a black LA Dodgers baseball hat, black rimmed glasses and tan and gray plaid flannel button down shirt.

J. Adrian Castrejon, Ph.D.
Dr. Castrejon earned a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Leadership from University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is a faculty member in the Department of Justice Studies. He also teaches in and supports the Department of Latino/a and Latin American Studies, where he serves as the Coordinator, and University Without Walls, within which he has taught and mentored students at Stateville Correctional Center. Dr. Castrejon’s research and scholarly interests primarily focus on race, labor, migration, Chicano masculinity, cultural preservation and day labor work.

A headshot photo of Ashley L. Elrod smiling, wearing clear rimmed glasses, a black printed top and blazer against a gray background.

Ashley L. Elrod, Ph.D.
Dr. Elrod earned a Ph.D. in History from Duke University. She teaches courses in the Department of History as well as the interdisciplinary fields of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Disability Studies. Her teaching covers medieval to modern eras; major historical periods such as the European Reformations, Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment; and spans the history of western Europe, the Mediterranean, the Americas and the Caribbean as well as Africa and Asia. Dr. Elrod’s research focuses on guardianship law in German history in the early modern period and her scholarship lies at the intersection of multiple fields of history, disability studies, gender studies and German studies.

A headshot photo of Wendy Gonzales, smiling, wearing a green blouse and black blazer against a light gray background.

Wendy Gonzales, Ph.D.
Dr. Gonzales earned a Ph.D. in Special Education from University of Illinois Chicago. She teaches and serves as a graduate advisor in the Department of Literacy, Leadership, Development and Special Education. She also teaches courses in early childhood reading methods and bilingual/bicultural education and is an advisor for University Without Walls. Dr. Gonzales’ research focus is understanding diverse educational contexts within special education and bilingual education, and aims to advance both theory and practice. The broader impact of her work is to bridge the gap between research and its practical applications in diverse educational settings and connect it to the broader field of literacy interventions, demonstrating the role of language in student achievement.

A headshot photo of Amirhossein Maleki, smiling, wearing a dark blue suit, white collared shirt and blue tie, against a gray background.

Amirhossein Maleki, Ph.D.
Dr. Maleki earned a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Washington State University, Pullman. He teaches undergraduate courses in the Department of Management and Marketing, particularly in the areas of strategic management, change management and entrepreneurship as well as courses in the MBA program. He has contributed to curriculum development in existing and new areas, including Hospitality Management. Dr. Maleki’s research interests are focused broadly on the intersection of institutions and entrepreneurship, including examining conditions that influence entrepreneurs’ decisions and the impact of national-level factors such as social trust, social benefit systems and cultural factors on individual level processes.

A headshot photo of Olunbunmi B. Oyewuwo-Gassikia, smiling, wearing brown and tan rimmed glasses, a gray top and white hijab with a gold pattern.

Olunbunmi B. Oyewuwo-Gassikia, Ph.D.
Dr. Oyewuwo Gassikia earned a Ph.D. in Social Work from University of Illinois Chicago. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the Department of Social Work including research methods and seminars, and graduate courses in advocacy. She also serves as Curriculum Specialist for the Bachelor of Social Work research area. Dr. Oyewuwo Gassikia’s research is focused on improving the health and well-being outcomes of women as well as Black, Muslim and immigrant communities. She is a Principal Investigator on a national survey research study that examines American Muslims’ perceptions and experiences of intimate partner violence and collaborates with an interdisciplinary team of mental health professionals examining American Muslims’ utilization of mental health services.

A headshot photo of Jody Siker, smiling, wearing a white top with polka dots, gray blazer and black rimmed glasses.

Jody Siker, Ph.D. 
Dr. Siker earned a Ph.D. in the Joint Program on Special Education at the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco State University. Dr. Siker teaches in the Department of Literacy, Leadership, Development and Special Education, including special education courses such as general survey, curriculum, curriculum adaptation, instructional design and methods courses in licensure programs for undergraduate and graduate students that lead to certificates and endorsements permitting graduates to teach special education. Dr. Siker’s main lines of research inquiry focus on questions of how to recruit and retain teacher candidates who identify as racially, ethnically and linguistically diverse; on using simulations to practice difficult, collaborative conversations; and improving family-school collaboration in special education.

A headshot photo of Christopher Straughn, wearing a floral button down shirt and black blazer. The Ronald Williams Library is blurred in the background.

Christopher Straughn, Ph.D.
Dr. Straughn earned a Ph.D. in Linguistics from University of Illinois Chicago and a M.S. in Library and Information Sciences from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As a faculty member in the NEIU Libraries, Dr. Straughn serves as the library liaison to the Departments of Linguistics, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and Philosophy, the School for the Advancement of English Language Learners and the College of Business and Technology,  providing library instruction and developing instructional materials for students and faculty in these areas. He also serves as a Coordinator for Digital Commons and as Collections Coordinator. Dr. Straughn’s contributions to cataloging and metadata creation over the past five years have focused on original cataloging of the Library’s Periodicals and Government Publications collections, as well as work with student publications.

A headshot photo of Andrew Young smiling, wearing a white collared shirt with a colorful plaid pattern and black blazer against a white/light gray background.

Andrew Young, Ph.D.
Dr. Young earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from University of Wisconsin, Madison. He teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses in the Department of Psychology including developmental psychology, child psychology, statistics and research methods. Dr. Young supervises undergraduate research capstones, has mentored students in various college and University-wide programs and serves as an advisor for Psychology. Dr. Young’s research focus is in the area of Cognition Science including the study of cognitive reflection in children, STEM thinking and learning and children’s social cognition.

Northeastern also awarded promotions to the rank of professor to the following faculty members:

Additionally, the following professors have been approved for Professional Advancement Increases (increased pay) by demonstrating superior teaching/performance of primary duties; superior or significant research/creative activity; and superior or significant service in the aggregate (taken as a whole) through at least the last five years prior to their evaluation and approval by Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs R. Shayne Cofer:

Top photo: Top row (left to right): Drs. Castrejon, Elrod, Gonzales and Maleki. Bottom row (left to right): Drs. Oyewuwo-Gassikia, Siker, Straughn and Young.