New Faculty

Center for Justice and Peacebuilding and the Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice Tarek Maassarani will teach at CJP and in SPI, advise graduate students in practica, staff the Zehr Institute, and consult on a pilot program sponsored by the Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney (see page 8). He is assisting in establishing restorative diversion programs, facilitating restorative justice processes with a focus on cases of sexual harm, directing a religious peacebuilding project in Chad and Cameroon, and offering training for the United States Institute of Peace. He holds a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University and a juris doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Social Work and Center for Justice and Peacebuilding Guarav Pathania brings research and teaching expertise on social justice and critical inquiry, with special interest most recently in the South Asian diaspora in the United States. His ethnographic research examines the intersection of caste, class and ethnic politics and explores issues of education and health among socially marginalized communities. Pathania holds a doctorate in sociology and two master’s degrees in the sociology of education and sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, as well as master’s degrees in public administration and English literature from Kurukshetra University.

Fulbright Scholar-In-Residence Social Work Xavier comes to EMU from Loyola College in Chennai, where he has been head of the social work department since 2014 and a faculty member since 2000. He is the current academic director of the Caux Scholars Programme, Asia Plateau. Xavier has consulted and provided training within projects related to human rights advocacy, capacity building, organizational structures, peacebuilding and mediation, and social and microcredit enterprises. He is also a documentary film producer. Xavier earned an MA in conflict transformation while a Fulbright Scholar at CJP, and also holds a master’s degree in social work and a PhD from University of Madras.

Practitioner In Residence Center for Justice and Peacebuilding Florina Xavier balances teaching roles at the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute, Philippines, and in the Caux Scholars Program, Switzerland with regular consulting work. She recently worked in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and Myanmar for the Australian organization ACT for Peace. Xavier is a graduate of CJP who also holds a master’s degree in social work from Madras College and a doctorate in social work from Osmania University. She is a Fulbright Scholar and Oxford Fellow.

EMU is engaged in an innovative new “cohort hire” approach that will fill multiple tenure-track positions for the 2022-23 academic year. Scholars who bring a creative and innovative desire to work across disciplines are specifically sought. “This creative approach puts CJP’s needs front and center,” said Provost Fred Kniss, who is co-chairing the coordinating committee with EMU’s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Jackie Font-Guzmán. For more information visit emu.edu/hr/cohort