For the past decade and a half my scholarship has been situated in the field of college access and success. Most recently I have been focused on the potential of games, gamification strategies, and social media to promote postsecondary opportunities for at-promise students. The Digital Equity in Education project at the Pullias Center has worked with schools, school districts, non-profits, industry, and state and federal agencies in an effort to promote equitable pathways to higher education for students from low-income and minoritized backgrounds. I have collaborated on research with a wide range of individuals and organizations from middle and high school students, to teachers, counselors, administrators, district staff, to non-profits, federal agencies, foundations, and tech companies. Until just over a year ago, however, I had not collaborated with skateboarders. Enter the Tony Hawk Foundation...

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A first-of-its-kind study of skateboarding culture reveals that skateboarding improves mental health, fosters community, and encourages diversity and resilience. The study, conducted by the Pullias Center for Higher Education at USC’s Rossier School of Education and USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, also showed that gender and race do matter within the skateboarding community.

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The research team behind the Beyond the Board study approached the project from a wide range of perspectives based on personal, professional and life experiences. These include a scholar of skateboarding, a parent to skateboarders, an elected official, a quantitative researcher, a college access practitioner, a journalism major, and a sociology major. The team shares their take on the study that redefined skateboarding culture…

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The application window for the 2020 Delphi Award is now open. The $15,000 cash award is given annually to two individuals or groups who have worked to support adjunct, contingent and non-tenure-track faculty in promoting student success. Application information is available on our website.

The 2019 winners took the stage recently at the Association of American Colleges and Universities Annual Meeting for a panel moderated by Adrianna Kezar, Director of the Pullias Center, and Ashley Finley, Senior Advisor to the President and Vice President of Strategic Planning and Partnerships at AAC&U.

Read a Recap of the Panel

Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers will be a main topic for the 42nd Pullias Lecture, which takes place on Thursday, March 12, 2020, at the University of Southern California.

Reserve Your Seat by March 1

What exactly is TRHT and what is a TRHT Campus Center? Get a briefing about this emerging concept with the lofty goal of erasing structural barriers to equal treatment and opportunity on campuses...

Learn About TRHT

When the Pullias Center first opened its doors 25 years ago as the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis, the organization had only 3 people on the team. A quarter century later and the Pullias Center consists of 7 faculty members, half a dozen full-time postdoctoral scholars, 15 research assistants, and is supported by a team of staff and students.

 

"To me, the Center changes every 4 or 5 years with new research assistants coming on board then eventually graduating," shares Diane Flores, Administrative Assistant and the longest standing employee currently at the Pullias Center. She joined the team in 2002. "I can call the center my second home, and the people here are my extended family," she admits...

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