About Steve

Steve Lemerand (he/him) graduated with a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Arizona (UA). A proud bisexual scholar, he currently works at a non-profit in Phoenix, AZ that supports LGBTQ+ youth and young adults. Previously, he worked in student affairs roles across three institutions, most recently, in Multicultural Communities of Excellence at Arizona State University.

Steve enjoys hiking, music (my top artists: Miguel, Khalid, Tems, Charli), and trying new restaurants with his friends and his partner, Caleb.

Check out Steve's Work on Google Scholar

Connect with Steve on LinkedIn

Educational Journey

Steve’s parents were public school teachers who emphasized the importance of education. He grew up in a small town of just over 1,000 people in Maryland, where schools were labeled low-income and severely underfunded. Progressing through high school, Steve’s awareness of resource disparities motivated him to pursue a degree in education with hopes of abolishing inequitable systems.

While studying a bachelor's degree in family and child sciences at Florida State University, Steve held several jobs and involvement roles on campus and unexpectedly joined the cheerleading team. His mentors, Jose and Jenni, literally changed his life, primarily in supporting his leadership and identity development as a queer student. Their transformative impact led him to the field of student affairs, aspiring to help college students thrive.

In 2020, Steve moved to Arizona to pursue a master's degree in higher education. At UA, he joined a research team exploring the impact of Hispanic-Serving Institution initiatives, which sparked his passion for research in educational equity and prompted him to pursue a doctoral degree.

Research Interests

Steve’s research advances postsecondary experiences for LGBTQ+ and other strategically undervalued communities in education. He grounds his work in critical theories and liberatory methodologies. For example, his dissertation study, theoretically grounded in queer failure and anti-homonormativity, explored how universities define and influence queer student success.

Steve’s scholarship encourages researchers and educators to imagine and organize beyond the institution and the nation-state. In other words, he asks: How can we cultivate community-based research by repurposing resources beyond institutional means/ends? Thus, he aspires to explore how campus communities use mutual aid and lateral solidarity strategies to meet students’ basic needs (food, housing) and ensure the most marginalized individuals can thrive.