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Mission
The Border Studies Archive (BSA) supports interdisciplinary research, applied pedagogy, and engaged scholarship by providing access to archival materials and regional data on the U.S.–Mexico border. Housed in the University Library and affiliated with UTRGV’s Department of Anthropology, BSA serves as a hub for inquiry into the social, infrastructural, and institutional conditions shaping the region.
Through partnerships with researchers, departments, and community organizations, BSA advances data-informed inquiry and collaborative knowledge production. BSA is committed to expanding its holdings and ensuring that its resources remain publicly accessible, relevant, and actionable for scholars, educators, and decision-makers.
Dr. Milena A. Melo
Dr. Milena A. Melo is a broadly trained cultural and medical anthropologist whose work focuses on immigration, healthcare inequalities, the U.S-Mexico borderlands, citizenship, and public policy. Motivated by her own experience as a DACA recipient and undocumented immigrant growing up in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands of South Texas, Dr. Melo is committed to conducting research that reduces barriers to healthcare, confronts social inequality, and combats the disenfranchisement faced by marginalized populations in the United States.
Dr. Melo graduated with her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2017. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Ford Foundation, School for Advanced Research, American Anthropological Association, and other local and institutional sources. She is currently a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Anthropology and the curator of the Border Studies Archive at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Email: milena.melotijerina@utrgv.edu
Office: (956) 882-7379 (Brownsville) and (956) 665-5921 (Edinburg)
Andrik Gonzalez
Andrik Gonzalez is a medical anthropology and border studies researcher whose work focuses on structural health inequities, public policy, and healthcare access in the U.S.–Mexico borderlands. Raised in the Rio Grande Valley, he is committed to community-based research that addresses systemic barriers to healthcare through ethnography, oral history, and interdisciplinary analysis. His work also explores cultural resilience, identity, and memory in border communities.
Andrik is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology and history at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where he serves as curatorial assistant at the Border Studies Archive. He has contributed to projects focused on healthcare access in colonias, developed community oral history initiatives, and supported the expansion of regional collections related to healthcare, policy, and identity. He plans to pursue a Master of Public Health with a focus on applied research, health equity, and policy advocacy.
Email: andrik.gonzalez01@utrgv.edu
Office: (956) 665-2909 (Edinburg)
Shannon Pensa
As Head of Special Collections & Archives, Shannon Pensa provides library support for Border Studies Archive. Shannon oversees preservation and access for the repository, responds to research inquiries, and coordinates research appointments and instructional sessions.
Email: Shannon.pensa@utrgv.edu
Office: (956) 665-5288
Former Curator (2020-2022)
Dr. Guy Duke, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley,
and Co-Director of Proyecto Arqueológico Riós Culebra-Colín (PARCC)
Founder & Former Curator
Dr. Margaret Dorsey, Professor of Anthropology, University of Richmond (VA)
Interim Curator (2014-2015)
Dr. Servando Z. Hinojosa, Professor of Anthropology, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley