Jen Matos is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and Education and the director of middle, secondary, and the arts teacher licensure programs. They serve as the program director of ¡Científicas Presente!, a summer STEM program for girls in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Matos is interested in the role of equality and liberation in learning communities. Matos' research has two distinct areas. In the first area, they examine the assets that Latinx students, families and communities bring to the classroom and how those strengths can be utilized to enhance the system of public education in the U.S. In the second area, they examine the longitudinal effects of a community based STEM program for girls in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Matos has worked with diverse populations of college students as a hallmark of their career and has served as director of multicultural affairs at Simon’s Rock, assistant dean of ALANA and GLBTQ students at Clark University, and assistant dean of students and advisor to Latinx students at Dartmouth College. Prior to their teaching appointment at Mount Holyoke, Matos taught at Our Lady of the Elms College, the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and the Smith College School for Social Work.
Jennifer M. Matos
Recent Campus News
A Baccalaureate event unlike any other
This year’s Baccalaureate at Mount Holyoke College was livestreamed for the first time in its history, due to COVID-19.
Meet Mount Holyoke’s newest faculty 2019
Mount Holyoke’s newest faculty bring innovative, interdisciplinary scholarship to the College’s thriving intellectual community.
MHC scholarships available to Maria survivors
A year after Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico, Mount Holyoke continues to offer scholarships to those affected.
Science is everywhere – and for everyone
The pilot year of a STEM camp for girls, a joint offering from Mount Holyoke College and the city of San Juan, brings education and renewed hope.
MHC’s Wonder-full first-year seminars
Mount Holyoke’s first-year seminars aim to enhance students’ analytical and critical thinking skills via diverse topics — even superheroes.
Recent Mentions in the Media
Recent Publications
Matos, J.M. (2021) Utilizing Latinx Cultural Capital for the Retention and Graduation of Latinx Students in Higher Education, Journal of Latinos and Education, DOI: 10.1080/15348431.2021.1941030
Matos, J.M.M. (2019). La familia and other secret ingredients to Latinx student success. New York: Peter Lang.
Matos, J.M.D. & Norskey, G.E. (2018). “Choosing Each Other: Love, Friendship, and Racism” in M.R. Hall & K. Smith (Eds.), Uncommon Bonds: Women Reflect on Race and Friendship. New York: Peter Lang.
Matos, J.M. (2018). Book Review: Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations about Race (Beverly Tatum, 2017, Basic Books), for Humanity and Society DOI: 10.1177/0160597618761471
Matos, J.M.D. (2015). La Familia: The Important Ingredient for Latina/o College Student Engagement and Persistence, Equity & Excellence in Education, 48 (3), 436-453.
Recent Honors
Was a Hispanic Heritage Month speaker at San Bernadino Valley College. Matos offered a virtual reading from their book, La familia: And other secret ingredients to Latinx student success.
Was elected to the South Hadley School Committee in the local election on April 13, 2021.
Was invited to speak at the UMass Amherst College of Education with Carmen Yulín Cruz on "Transformation through Collaboration: Two Communities Collaborate to Learn from Each Other" about the Mount Holyoke College STEM program in San Juan, Puerto Rico on March 31, 2021.
Presented research on facilitating dialogues on race in college courses at the POD Network Conference, November 13-17, 2019. Pittsburgh, PA.
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