Mari Gray, PhD Faculty Profile

Photo of Mari Gray

Mari  Gray, PhD

Assistant Professor

Department of Educational Leadership

Mariama Smith Gray is a fourth generation Californian and graduate of Oakland public schools. Dr. Gray earned her BA in Spanish and Latin American Studies, MA in Education, and teaching credential from Stanford University.  She earned a second MA in Education and an administrative services credential from San Jose State. She has fifteen years of experience teaching and leading schools in Northern California, including two California Distinguished Schools, one distinguished by the state for excellence in math instruction. As a mentor teacher, she was recognized by the Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP) for excellence in pre-service teacher preparation. She received her Ph.D. in Education from the University of California, Davis in 2016 where she was awarded the UC Davis Dissertation Year Fellowship and the Outstanding Graduate Student Award. An assistant professor of Education in the Department of Educational Leadership, Dr. Gray’s research examines the role of school administrators and school-based law enforcement in the disproportionate discipline of Latino boys. Her latest article, Blocking the Bathroom: Race and Gender in School Spaces, draws on socio-cultural geographical theories to examine the spatial arrangements of the disproportionate discipline, surveillance, and banishment of Latino boys who were constructed as gang members in school and community spaces.

  • Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in Language, Literacy and Culture, University of California, Davis
  • M.A. Educational Leadership and Preliminary Administrative Services Credential, The San Jose State University
  • M.A. Education, Professional Clear Credential in Spanish, and CLAD Credential, Stanford University
  • B.A. Latin American Studies with honors. B.A. Spanish Literature and Society, Stanford University

Not teaching this semester.

Gray, M. (2019). Critical Geographies of Education and Teacher Education Pedagogies.  In M.A.P. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Teacher Education. Singapore: Springer. 

Gray, M. (2019). Blocking the Bathroom: Race and Gender in School Spaces. Critical Education, 10(2), 1-20.

Gray, M. (2016). Saving the Lost Boys: Narratives of Discipline Disproportionality, Journal of the California Association of Professors of Educational Administration, 27, 53-80.

Gray, M. (2013). Discretion and Discipline at Americana High School: How Vice Principals Can Create Latino Disadvantage, CCNews, 24(2), 26.

 

Where Do We Go From Here, Davis? Keynote Address. City of Davis Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. (2018).

The Politics of Professionalism: Women of Color Scholars Redefine Professionalism in the Academy. Hawaiian International Conference on Education. Honolulu, HI. (2018).

Las fronteras de cultura, raza y genero: A Case Study of the Cultural Geography of Space. Inter-American Conference on Ethnography and Education. El Paso, TX. (2017).

The School Counselor’s Role in Student Discipline: From Punishment to Support, Intervention and Prevention. H.B. McDaniel/California Association of School Counselors Northern California Conference Stanford, CA (2017).

A Question of Access: Apprenticing First Generation Students into University Norms and Language. New Faculty Orientation. CSU East Bay. Hayward, CA. (2017)

With the Best Intentions: Building Relationships in a Culture of Surveillance. Brown Bag talk at the UC Davis School of Education. The University of California, Davis. Davis, CA. (2016).

Surveillance and Supervision in Schools. CSU East Bay. Hayward, CA. (2016).

How I Earned My Ph.D. Professional Training for Professor Karen Watson-Gegeo’s Graduate Course, Education 298. Berkeley, CA. (2016).

They’re Hanging Out With Validated Gang Members: How Schools Justify Unequal Treatment: Lecture in Children, Learning and Material Culture, Education 122. The University of California, Davis. Davis, CA. (2015).

Policing and Surveillance as Common Sense: Unveiling the Discourses of Power and Powerlessness in Student Discipline, Council on Anthropology and Education Invited Session at the American Anthropological Association Annual Conference. Denver, CO. (2015).

A Critical Interrogation of Hegemony: Race, Language and Gender in Student Discipline. Lecture in Language, Gender, and Society, Linguistics 163. The University of California, Davis. Davis, CA. (2015).

Decoding Race Talk: Unpacking the language of disproportionate discipline in the principal’s office. Lecture in Children, Learning and Material Culture, Education 122. The University of California, Davis. Davis, CA. (2015).

Decoding Race Talk: Using Qualitative Methods to Understand Disproportionate Student Discipline. Brown Bag talk at the UC Davis School of Education. Davis, CA. (2014).

How Mitchell Was Funneled Into the School to Prison Pipeline. Council on Anthropology and Education Invited Poster Presentation at the American Anthropological Association Annual Conference. Washington, D.C. (2014).

Punishing Mitchell: A Critical Examination of Racialized Push-Out Practices. Panel Presentation at the Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting. Albuquerque, N.M. (2014).

The Role of School Administrators in Education: How Vice-Principals Can Create Latino Disadvantage. Poster presentation at the UC Davis Fall Convocation. Davis, CA. (2014).

The Language of Bias in Student Discipline. Brown Bag Talk at the UC Davis African and African-American Studies Department. Davis, CA. (2013).

Discretion and Discipline at Americana High School: How Vice-principals Can Create Latino Disadvantage. Poster presentation at the bi-annual Conference of the California Council of Teacher Educators. San Jose, CA. (2013).

Teaching Academic English to English Learners. Professional Development Workshop for the Santa Clara Unified School District. Santa Clara, CA. (2003).

The Door: Whose Classroom Is It? Presentation at the annual Stanford Teacher Education Portfolio Conference. Stanford, CA. (1996).

2016    Outstanding Graduate Student Award

2015    UC Davis Dissertation Year Fellowship ($43,700)

2014    Shirley Brice Heath New CAE Scholar Travel Scholarship ($300)

2014    Professors for the Future Fellowship ($3000)

2014    UC Davis School of Education Power of 10 Scholarship ($1627)

2014    UC Davis Graduate Student Travel Award ($800)

2014    UC Davis Graduate Group in Education Research Fellowship ($8000)

2014    UC Davis Graduate Group in Education Fellowship ($1400)

2013    UC Davis Graduate Group in Education Travel Award ($800)

2013    UC Davis Block Grant Stipend ($2500)

2013    AERA Emancipation Proclamation Pre-Conference Travel Award ($150)

2011     UC Davis Block Grant Award ($622)

2002   English/ELD Department Recognized for Excellence in Pre-Service Teacher Preparation

                 by the Stanford Teacher Education Program

1996    Stanford University Mellon Fellowship

1993    Latin American Studies Department Summer Research Grant ($500)

1993    Stanford University Overseas Studies Office Summer Research Grant ($2000)

Funded Grant Proposals

2017    A2E2 Funds for Department of Educational Leadership Speaker Series at CSU East Bay. ($13,000).

2004   Apple Tree Foundation to develop a Home Visit Program at Pioneer High School in Woodland, CA. ($500).

1995    City of Oakland Municipal Grant to maintain the Ebony Museum of Art in Oakland, CA. ($10,000).