Janelle Cronin
About
Janelle Cronin is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation from Gallup, New Mexico. She graduated from Haskell Indian Nations University in 2015 with her Bachelor of Environmental Science degree. She is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at Purdue University in both Ecological Sciences & Engineering and Curriculum Studies. Her most recent fellowship is the 2026-2027 Elouise Cobell Dissertation Fellowship administered by Indigenous Education Inc. She was awarded the 2026 Dean’s Dissertation Scholarship through Purdue’s College of Education. While at Purdue, she was also a George Washington Carver Fellow and Alfred P. Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership Scholar. Her qualitative research focuses on giving back and the experiences of Indigenous faculty.
Education
Ph.D. Candidate-Purdue University (2021-current)
Graduate Certificate-University of Kansas (2025-2026)
M.S.-Purdue University (2015-2018)
B.S.-Haskell Indian Nations University (2010-2015)
Career Experience
Lead Instructor Gateways to Graduate School-AGR490, Purdue University (Aug. 2025-Dec.2025)
Board Member, Native Professional Development Center (previously National Indian Youth Council) (2019-2025)
Indian Education Specialist/Consultant, Gordon Bernell Charter School (2021)
Awards & Honors
Dean’s Dissertation Scholarship, College of Education, Purdue University (2026)
Excellence in Community Engagement, Sloan Scholars Alumni Network (2024)
Excellence in Equity Award, Purdue Barbara Cook Chapter of Mortar Board, Purdue University (2024)
Graduate Student of the Month, Native Forward Scholars Fund, (January 2023)
Professional Affiliations/Memberships
National Indian Education Association
American Education Research Association
Research & Publications
Janelle’s research interests and scholarship focus on the Indigenous academic pathway. Her research has progressed from examining Indigenous activism and resistance (Master’s thesis, 2018) to centering Indigenous epistemologies and faculty experiences in higher education (current dissertation research). As a qualitative researcher she seeks understanding through the experiences of Indigenous people within education today and examine the continued power imbalances that persist. Janelle is engaged with Indigenous centered methodologies such as storytelling, art and personal experiences/anecdotes (autoethnographies and duo-ethnographies) as her tools in helping Indigenous peoples tell their own stories.
Selected Publications
Cronin, J. (2026). The Ways We Lead. In R. Minthorn & T. Smith (Eds.) Ancestors-in-Training: Conceptualizing Our Legacy as Indigenous Leaders. Indigenous Student Leadership and Activism. Routledge Publishing
Cronin, J. (2026). In C. Bazemore-James and K. Collins (Eds.) Many Buds Blooming: Lived Experiences and Insights from Native American Graduate Students. New Directions for Student Services Journal
Cronin, J. (2025). To Weave or To Write. In S. Masta (Ed.), Celebrating Survival of Indigenous Culture, Knowledge, and Values in Educational Spaces: Foregrounding the Voices of Indigenous Girls and Women. (pp.1-7) Routledge Publishing
Cronin, J. (2021). “First Opinion: Challenging the Foundation of America Is So… un-American.” First Opinions, Second Reactions 14.2: Article 6. Web. https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/fosr/vol14/iss2/6