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Issues in higher education
Kim Wilcox: Chancellor. Advocates for a university system that acknowledges the importance of raising students’ socioeconomic status; will speak to the disproportionate attention paid to the nation’s private, elite universities; legacy admissions; college access; free college tuition; and the U.S. News rankings. kim.wilcox@ucr.edu.
Steven Brint: Distinguished professor of sociology and public policy. Organizational sociologist of higher education; author of “Two Cheers for Higher Education,” which tracks the evolution of higher education in the U.S. between 1980 and 2015. steven.brint@ucr.edu
Eddie Comeaux: Associate professor of education. College student experience; college athletes; underrepresented students; how students’ experiences influence their outcomes; racial equity issues; student engagement; intercollegiate athletics; cultural competence; leadership in student affairs. eddie.comeaux@ucr.edu
David Funder: Distinguished professor of psychology. Standardized test success vs. conscientiousness (GPA). Funder's research asserts that high school GPAS and peer ratings of conscientiousness are better predictors of college GPAs than the SATs. Funders research asserts that, while SAT results vary by ethnicity, conscientiousness doesn’t. david.funder@ucr.edu
Raquel Rall: Assistant professor of education. Leadership, governance, and administration of higher education; equity; executive leadership and boards of trustees at universities; college preparation and access; the academic experiences and success of students of color. raquel.rall@ucr.edu
Margaret Nash: Professor of education. History of education in the U.S.; relationships between education and citizenship, and education and identity; land-grant universities; drag on college campuses; purges of gay students and faculty from campuses in the 1940s. margaret.nash@ucr.edu
Kelechi A. Kalu: Vice provost of International Affairs and professor of political science. International students; university globalization; international collaborative research programs; expanding student exchange opportunities. kelechi.kalu@ucr.edu
Uma Jayakumar: Associate professor of education. Admissions processes, including standardized tests, campus climate and organizational culture, diversity and inclusion, affirmative action and critical mass, student of color resistance, white fragility and the growing conservative white groups/ free speech rhetoric on college campuses. Expert witness in UNC court case involving affirmative action; co-developed briefs summarizing key research findings related to the use of race-conscious admissions practices for the two Fisher v. University of Texas cases. uma.jayakumar@ucr.edu
