Guest Editor Adrian H. Huerta, Assistant Professor

Dear Colleagues,

As I enter the fifth year of the tenure track at USC, I constantly think about “impact” and how my daily activities influence my efforts as an assistant professor of education in a highly respected research center that engages in policy-practice-oriented scholarship. Given that I am currently on my postdoctoral fellowship from the National Academy of Education (NAEd)/Spencer Foundation for the Fall semester, I am removed from teaching and administrative duties, so I have the “luxury of more time” toward my research, my NAEd project, advising my Ph.D. students, and service to the field at-large. So, I have time to think about how I want to impact my local university community and the broader field and national community.

Going back to my undergraduate days, my original motivation in pursuing a faculty career is to positively impact the lives of students who are historically ignored or unsupported by higher education by centering structural conditions that can be improved. Luckily, I believe my efforts so far in my career are doing that, and I am grateful for the opportunity to think differently to solve problems.

Now, as an expert on the college pathways for gang-involved youth and former gang members, student parents in college, and men of color retention programs, I hope K-16 educators can see what I see in the participants I have interviewed — potential college students who want to use higher education to change their lives. Today, I will focus on two projects: the LBCC Phoenix Scholars and the ECMC Men of Color funding.

I hope you enjoy this month’s Pullias Center newsletter.

Adrian H. Huerta

Assistant Professor, USC Rossier School of Education

Dean Pedro Noguera, Julie Posselt on USC Rossier Panel on the Future of University Admissions

Supreme Court ruling on Affirmative Action galvanizes leaders, raises awareness

USC Rossier will host a deep dive into university admissions and affirmative action in an in-person and online panel discussion on Wednesday, October 25 from 4:00 - 5:00pm at USC. Join USC Rossier Associate Professor Julie Posselt, Dean Pedro Noguera and a panel of higher education scholars and administrators enrollment experts asthey discuss the work of leading admissions practices to align with equity and diversity.

Drs. Adrianna Kezar and Joseph Kitchen Co-author New Book Focused on PASS Study

This new book by Drs. Adrianna Kezar, Joseph Kitchen along with members of the Promoting At-promise Student Success (PASS) research team offers a new approach to institutional policies.

"Creating a Campus-wide Culture of Student Success" describes evidence-based strategies to create a campus culture conducive to truly supporting all students.

The ideas presented in this book, available on October 23, are the culmination of one of the largest studies of comprehensive college support programs for at-promise students.

Meet the Pullias Researchers at ASHE, November 15-18 in Minneapolis

Join Pullias Center and USC researchers at this year's ASHE conference in Minneapolis.



Check out our presentation schedule here.

NEW PUBLICATIONS

In a new report, Twelfth Grade Math and College Success, LAERI-affiliated researchers build on their work from an earlier report, Twelfth Grade Math and College Access, and examine the impact of taking a math course in twelfth grade on Los Angeles USD students' STEM course taking and college success. Leonard Wainstein, Carrie E. Miller, Meredith Phillips, Kyo Yamashiro and Tatiana Melguizo served as co-authors.

New Case Studies are being completed to complement the Change Leadership Toolkit, a comprehensive guide for institutions looking to make systemic, lasting change. The Case Studies illustrate how universities and colleges have implemented signfiicant change utilizing the research and actions outlined in the Toolkit. Recently added documents include examples from Dallas College, Amarillo College and California State University, Monterey Bay. See the full library of Change Leadership Toolkit Case Studies here.

Culver, K. C., Kezar, A., & Koren, E. R. (2023). Improving Access and Inclusion for VITAL Faculty in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Through Sustained Professional Development Programs. Innovative Higher Education, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-023-09672-7 

Huerta, A. H., McDonough, P. M., Venegas, K. M. & Allen, W. R. (2023). College is…: Focusing on the college knowledge of gang-associated Latino boys and young men. Urban Education. 58(9), 1943–1972. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085920934854 

Neri, R. C., Zipin, L., Rios-Aguilar, C. & Huerta, A. H. (2023). Surfacing deep challenges for social-educational justice: Putting funds, wealth, and capital frameworks into dialogue. Urban Education, 58(7), 1512-1538. https://doi.org/10.1177/00420859211016520

MORE NEWS

• Ph,D. candidate Jimmy Aguilar’s op-ed Navigating College Applications: Myth Busting and Advice Under Race-Neutral Mandates was recently published in The Messenger.

• Zoë Corwin participated on a panel for the Education Writers Association’s Higher Education 2023 convening titled Opportunity Engine: How Colleges Can Help Students Achieve Social Mobility, moderated by Teresa Watanabe of the Los Angeles Times.

• Zoë Corwin was cited in the George Washington University’s Hatchet newspaper about the hidden costs of college in the article Graduation gap between Pell and non-Pell students closes.

• Elizabeth Holcombe was invited to present at Royal Roads University (British Columbia, Canada). Her talk was titled “Shared Equity Leadership.”

• Elizabeth Holcombe gave an invited talk, “Shared Equity Leadership: Reimagining Our Collective Work,” at the ACUHO-I Multicultural Institute for campus housing professionals. 

• Adrian H. Huerta gave an invited talk about the educational experiences of former gang members at the University of Colorado-Boulder’s Criminology and Criminal Justice Working Group. 

• Royel Johnson was selected to receive the New Leader Award from The Ohio State University’s College of Education and Human Ecology. The award recognizes “alumni who are age 36 or younger and have already made significant professional accomplishments.” 

• The fourth episode of the ASHE Presidential Podcast, co-hosted by Royel Johnson, was released. It features Julie Posselt among other guests, and focuses on the myriad of forces that are impacting access to higher education. 

• Ph.D. candidate Glenda Palacios was selected as an invited speaker for the Global Working Group Beyond Development - 2023 Meeting on Debts and Reparations in New Orleans, Louisiana and Jackson, Mississippi.

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HIGHER EDUCATION

Promoting Equity in Higher Education

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The World's Leading Research Center on Student Access and Success in Higher Education