Monica Cornejo

M. Cornejo (PhD, 2022, UC Santa Barbara) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Cornell University. Trained as an interpersonal communication researcher, Dr. Cornejo’s main research interest is to examine how legally stigmatized migrants’ communication strategies to obtain humanization and access to essential resources (e.g., education, health care access) alter their self-view, psychosocial health, general well-being-,-and-social mobility in the USA. 

Research Focus

Dr. Cornejo uses multiple research methods (e.g., community-participatory, semi-structured interviews, cross-sectional & longitudinal surveys) and cross-institutional collaborations (e.g., UT Austin) to examine three key—communication centered—research questions: (a) what are the structural and systemic barriers (e.g., discriminatory laws, policies, norms that repress migrants of color; migrants who have liminal immigration status in USA) that lead to health and societal inequities among legally stigmatized migrants (e.g., undocumented youth; formerly detained migrants)?; (b) How do legally stigmatized migrants use communication identity management and advocacy strategies to challenge systemic inequities?; and (c) How does this process alter legally marginalized migrants’ positionality & self-view within USA? Her current research examines these questions among migrants who experience immigration detention in the USA and their advocates. 

Her research has been published in leading journals in the field of Communication, such as the Journal of Communication, Health Communication, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, and Journal of Applied Communication Research. In addition to publishing in flagship and top-tier journals in and outside the field of Communication (e.g., Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology), Dr. Cornejo has received a top paper award from the Interpersonal Communication Division at the International Communication Association and another one from the Health Communication Division at the National Communication Association. As a junior faculty, Dr. Cornejo has been awarded over $276,000 in various funding opportunities (e.g., grants & research fellowships) to fund her scholarship. 

Dr. Cornejo’s research has scholarly implications for communication theory building and important practical implications for social and public policy in the USA. Her commitment to applied scholarship led Dr. Cornejo to co-found The Communication and Empowerment Collaborative (CEC) alongside her colleague, Dr. Jennifer Kam, to ensure that her findings reach migrant communities, stakeholders, and allies. 

Teaching Focus

Dr. Cornejo uses a critical teaching approach that examines how knowledge production has been historically used to repress various repressed communities (e.g., Indigenous communities; legally stigmatized migrants; queer communities) within the USA, Dr. Cornejo focuses on teaching students different ways in which interpersonal communication can aid or hinder the systemic construction of identity-based disparities and inequities (e.g., discrimination towards sexual orientation minorities and immigrant communities), as well as the strategies members of marginalized communities (and allies, co-conspirators, families) utilize to challenge identity-based disparities and inequities that position them and their loved ones in a low-standing social position that negatively impacts various aspects of their lives (e.g., psychosocial health).