Ashleigh Faris

Areas of Expertise

• Scholarship of teaching and learning
• Diversity and equity in undergraduate education
• Field crop entomology
• Invasive species
• Developmental biology
• Forensic entomology
• Decomposition ecology

Professional Summary

Ashleigh Faris, Ph.D. is an instructional assistant professor in the Texas A&M University Department of Entomology. Faris teaches various undergraduate and first year experience courses, is the department coordinator for ENTO and FIVS undergraduate internships and research, advises undergraduate led research, and serves on graduate student committees. Her scholarship of teaching and learning interests are in diversity and inclusion for equitable undergraduate education, the interdisciplinary role of insects outside of entomology-based education, and course development/redesign for improving undergraduate retention. Outside of teaching, Faris’s field crop research interests focus on biological control through natural enemies, including predators and parasitoids, of invasive pest species and their plant-insect interactions. Her forensic research addresses variation in blow fly development using molecular, ecological modeling, and biological approaches to improve time of colonization (TOC) estimates in decomposition ecology. Faris was selected as a 2021 Inclusive Teaching Faculty Fellow through the TAMU Center for Teaching Excellence. She has organized and presented symposia focused on entomology and its utility in interdisciplinary undergraduate education. Faris is currently a faculty advisor for the Aggie Forensic and Investigative Sciences Organization and the Aggie Art Therapy Organization.