Dr. Alexandra Cornelius is the Director of the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (CWGS) at Florida International University (FIU). Appointed in 2020, she leads the Center in promoting women’s and gender studies research, curricular development, and Miami-based community partnerships. Dr. Cornelius is a Co-Principal Investigator on a multi-year, 1.37 million Children’s Trust Grant for the “Black Mothers Care Plan” (BMCP) with Drs. Okezi Otovo (PI); Vicki Burns (Co-Pi); and Andrea Queeley (Co-PI), (2021). Housed within CWGS- FIU, the BMCP is an interdisciplinary community-research partnership that uses community-based participatory frameworks to improve the quality of care for African American birthing people. Dr. Cornelius earned her Ph.D. in American History from Washington University, St. Louis, after completing an M.A. in American History at Purdue University and a B.A. in History at Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY). Committed to transdisciplinary approaches to the study of health and healing practices, Cornelius established the Health Humanities Certificate program at FIU. She is particularly committed to providing students with opportunities to learn more about the ways health care advocates are addressing contemporary issues including maternal health disparities; environmental impact on health; reproductive health, FemTech, and innovations in health care delivery.
