College of Education and Human Services Names Assistant Deans

Dr. Juan Araujo, associate professor and assistant head of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and Dr. DeMarquis Hayes, associate professor and head of the Department of Psychology and Special Education, have been named assistant deans of the College of Education and Human Services at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Dean of the college, Dr. Kimberly McLeod, said the search committee did an excellent job providing a pool of highly-qualified candidates for the positions. “I am delighted with the results and look forward to working with Drs. Araujo and Hayes as we collaborate to serve the College of Education and Human Services with excellence.”

Araujo has extensive experience in the education field. He served as a bilingual elementary teacher, lecturer, assistant and associate professor of reading and, most recently, as assistant head in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at A&M-Commerce. In his new role, Araujo will assist in management and leadership of the college's education program initiatives.

Known for his research on writing in high school settings, Araujo has worked with the National Writing Project and currently serves on the board of directors for the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER), where he also holds editorship of the ALER yearbook.

Araujo has been published over 30 times in reading journals and yearbooks and has presented at literacy conferences in Poland, France, Austria and Cuba. He is currently co-principal investigator of “Mayo Teach,” a group funded in part by a $300,000 grant from The Gates Foundation to redesign the undergraduate teacher education program at A&M-Commerce.

“I am excited to take on this new role with the College of Education and Human Services,” said Araujo. “I look forward to continuing our work, alongside our faculty and staff, to meet the needs of current and future students.”

Hayes will assist with management and leadership of the college's human services program initiatives.

As a licensed psychologist and licensed specialist in school psychology, Hayes has provided psychological services to students and families in the Dallas metroplex for over 15 years through private practice and in public and charter school settings.

He most recently served as head of the Department of Psychology and Special Education and as program coordinator for the Specialist in School Psychology program at A&M-Commerce, which is approved by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).

Hayes' research interests include issues of resilience and vulnerability in children and adolescents, and identifying variables that contribute to student success in higher education, especially those from ethnic minority backgrounds.

He is a frequent contributor to the NASP Multicultural Affairs committee as a panelist on the African-American subcommittee, and serves on roundtable discussions for graduate students and early career faculty. He is currently on the editorial board for the journal Urban Education, and he previously worked on the editorial board for the NASP Communique publication. Hayes has also served on the state board for the Texas Association of School Psychologists.

“I am very excited and humbled to be selected for this position,” Hayes said. “The talented faculty and staff in the College of Education and Human Services will, no doubt, make my transition into the role of assistant dean that much easier. I am ready to work with my colleagues to help make this the premier college in Texas and beyond.”