Our Team
Sajida Jalalzai is a scholar of American religions and Islam in North America who served as Assistant Professor in the Department of Religion at Trinity University from 2017 until spring 2026, following a contested tenure denial. Her research examines Islam, gender, power, and religious authority, with particular attention to higher education, public discourse, and the governance of Muslim life in North America. Her scholarship extends beyond the academy through public engagement, media commentary, and community education on religion, politics, and higher education.
Sarah Beth Kaufman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Trinity University. A sociologist and critical criminologist, Kaufman was a death penalty defense investigator and mitigation specialist before completing her Ph.D at NYU. Her latest publication in The Journal of Southern History traces the founding of Trinity University through wealth and social networks of enslavement, highlighting the historical relationship between higher education and systems of power. She is an active member of Jewish Voices for Peace and the president of Trinity University’s chapter of the AAUP .
Habiba Noor is a Lecturer in the department of Education at Trinity University. Over the last ten years, she has tracked the evolving mechanisms of state power in Texas, tracing a shift in right wing policy making from anti-Muslim legislation to the regulation of public education. She has worked across multiple organizing and research initiatives focused on public education, Islamophobia, Palestine solidarity, student advocacy and academic freedom. She serves on the board for the Institute for Diversity in Civic Life, a Texas based non-profit that uses storytelling, oral history, and community engaged research to advance more democratic space.