Jessica Leveto, Ph.D.
Biography
Dr. Jessica A. Leveto, Ph.D., has over two decades of experience navigating academia and motherhood. Currently serving as an Associate Professor of Sociology, her fields of specialization encompass family, motherhood/caregiving, identity, mental health, neurodiversity, emotion, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and the broader landscape of higher education.
Attuned to the cultural contradictions of being a motherscholar, Dr. Leveto's research scrutinizes the complexity of motherhood within academia, considering both micro and macro frameworks. She strives to bridge theoretical and empirical research with applied public sociology. Dr. Leveto combines empirical research, personal insight, and professional coaching skills to shift institutional policy and advocate to shift culture and practice to empower mothersholars in their pursuit of academic work-life integration.
Much of her work is directed toward conceiving policies that could render higher education more accessible and accommodating for faculty and students with caregiving responsibilities. In this vein, she explores pedagogical practices that center access and inclusion for students juggling academic and parental roles. Dr. Leveto's work is rooted in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, wherein she develops approaches to embed flexibility, access, innovation, and career readiness throughout her pedagogical practice.
Equipped with proficiency in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method research, Dr. Leveto has cultivated skills utilizing analytical tools such as SPSS, STATA, AMOS, and MAXQDA. Her academic contributions are widespread, with her works published in esteemed platforms like Sociology Compass (Wiley), Current Psychology (Springer), Advances in Group Processes: Biosociology and Neurosociology (Emerald), Leading Change in Gender and Diversity in Higher Education Internationally from Margins to Mainstream (Routledge) and New Directions in Identity Theory (Oxford University Press).
Demonstrating her commitment to supporting academic mothers and public sociology, Dr. Leveto founded Ph.D. Mamas in 2015, an online community of over 19,000 mothers in academia from around the world dedicated to promoting and working towards social equity for individuals who identify as mothers+ in the academic community. Ph.D. Mamas is committed to empowering, educating, engaging, and supporting individuals' mental, emotional, professional, intellectual, and physical well-being. She serves as the Vice President for the Academic Mama Foundation, an organization that aims to support academic mothers through grants to balance academic pursuits alongside child-rearing. She is a board member of the International Association of Maternal Action and Scholarship (IAMAS), a non-profit organization that promotes empowered mothering via research on and advocacy for (and with) mothers.
Dr. Leveto is a first-generation college graduate. She is the proud mother to Liam (24), Ryleigh (10), and Lillian (8). Her academic and personal endeavors are intrinsically tied to building and nurturing a culture where work and family integration is not just possible but celebrated.
Education
2005 M.A., Social Sciences, Pennsylvania Western University (PennWest) Edinboro
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2024 Weatherhead Coaching Certificate, Case Western Reserve University
2023 Weatherhead Foundations of Coaching Certificate, Case Western Reserve University
2021 Online and Blended Teaching and Learning Postgraduate Certificate, Kent State University
Publications
- CohenMiller, Anna and J. A. Leveto. 2024 “Motherscholars” Oxford Annotated Bibliographies, Education. Series Editor Susan Faircloth. Oxford University Press.
- Leveto, Jessica A. 2024. “Nurturing Equity and Access: Compassion in Action for Parenting Graduate Students” in Making Colleges Supportive Spaces for Pregnant and Parenting Students, edited by Catherine Riley and Katie B. Garner. Routledge.
- CohenMiller, A and J. A. Leveto. 2023 "Centering voices of motherscholars during the COVID-19 pandemic shows overwhelming responsibilities, ingrained gender roles, and blurred boundaries." Leading Change in Gender and Diversity in Higher Ed. Routledge
- Leveto, Jessica A. 2022 Invited Review, “Living on the Spectrum,” Contemporary Sociology.
- Leveto, Jessica A. 2021. "Embedding Career Readiness Throughout the Curriculum: A Case for Explicit, Transparent Connections." Teaching Learning Matters, American Sociological Association Teaching and Learning Section.
- Leveto, Jessica A. 2020. “Exploring the Relationships Between Discrepancies in Perceptions of Emotional Performance Among College Students on Self-Esteem and Psychological Distress” Current Psychology. Springer.
- Leveto, Jessica A. 2018 “Toward a Sociology of Autism and Neurodiversity” Sociology Compass. Wiley.
- Leveto, Jessica A. 2016. “Happiness and Identity Theory” New Directions in Identity Theory and Research. Volume 1. Volume Editors Jan E. Stets and Richard T. Serpe. Oxford University Press.
- Leveto, Jessica A. and Will Kalkhoff. 2012. "Biosocial Interaction Rituals of Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Research Agenda for Neurosociology." Advances in Group Processes, Biosociology and Neurosociology Vol. 29. Volume Editor Will Kalkhoff.
Awards/Achievements
- Faculty Fellow, AY22-23 KSU Center for Teaching and Learning, Addressing Course Accessibility for Parenting/Caregiving Students
- Platinum Teaching Recognition Award, “Career Pathways in Sociology, Criminology and Justice Studies” Kent State University Center for Teaching and Learning (2022)
- University Research Council Grant, “The Impact of COVID19 on Mothers in Academia.” (2022)
- Summer Teaching Development Grant, University Teaching Council, Center for Teaching and Learning, Kent State University, “Embedding Support of Career Readiness Competency Throughout the Sociology Curriculum” (2020)
- Honoree, “Mothers, Mentors & Muses” Kent State University Women’s Center (2014)