Alesha Doan


Dr. Alesha Doan
  • Professor
  • School of Public Affairs & Administration

Contact Info

Wescoe Hall, Room 4060
Lawrence

Biography

Alesha E. Doan is Associate Dean in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the University of Kansas. She also holds a joint appointment in the School of Public Affairs & Administration and the Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies Department. Professor Doan's interdisciplinary research program is situated at the intersections between gender, public policy, and organizations, with a substantive focus on reproductive health, sexual violence, and gender & the military. She has been awarded more than $7 million in external funding, and her publications include articles in a variety of journals. She is the co-editor of Managing Sex in the U.S. Military: Gender, Identity, and Behavior (2022),  as well the author or co-author of Abortion Regret: The New Attack on Reproductive Freedom (2019), Organizational Obliviousness: Entrenched Resistance to Gender Integration in the Military (2019), Opposition and Intimidation: The Abortion Wars and Strategies of Political Harassment (2007), and The Politics of Virginity: Abstinence in Sex Education (2008).

Education

Political Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Political Science, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Sociology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

Research

Research interests:

  • abortion politics
  • reproductive policy
  • reproductive justice
  • gender and military
  • sexual violence

Teaching

Professor Doan’s strives to establish a safe learning space, which is crucial for engaging students as they learn to deconstruct the underlying dynamics of privilege and inequality that influence many public policies and formal/informal organizational practices. She promotes the success of underrepresented students in the classroom and integrates inclusive practices in selecting readings, creating assignments, designing the classroom environment, and assessing students. These practices allow multiple opportunities and pathways for all students to be successful. Professor Doan uses a positive-feedback model of professional growth aimed at supporting and encouraging students without diminishing the constructive critical feedback that aids professional development.

Teaching interests:

  • public policy
  • reproductive policy
  • feminist methods
  • reproductive justice
  • diversity and equity in public organizations

Awards & Honors

Byron A. Alexander Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Kansas
2018
Higher Education Award
Dialogue Institute Southwest
2015
University of Kansas Woman of Distinction
Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity, University of Kansas
2014
Outstanding Young Professional Award
Population, Reproductive and Sexual Health Section of the American Public Health Association
2012