In this critical qualitative study, we draw on interviews with sitting Presidents of Color in one state to explore the racialized dimensions of the college and university presidential search and appointment process. Informed by Ray's racialized organization tenets of whiteness as a credential and racialized agency, our findings show that…

Colleges and universities are increasingly turning to algorithms that predict college-student success to inform various decisions, including those related to admissions, budgeting, and student-success interventions. Because predictive algorithms rely on historical data, they capture societal injustices, including racism. In this study, we examine…

In the context of continued equity gaps in student success within and beyond STEM, this paper explored the extent to which the representation of underrepresented racial minority (URM) and first-generation college students predict grades in postsecondary STEM courses. The analyses examined 87,027 grades received by 11,868 STEM-interested students…

To systematically explore the structural racism that teacher educators of Color endure, this article uses a critical race theory lens to analyze the findings from qualitative questionnaires with 141 Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Asian American teacher educators who work in diverse universities across the United States. We learned that many of the…

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between engineering faculties' perception of the diversity climate and their turnover intentions at R1 (Research 1) universities across the U.S. We sampled 1,101 tenure-track engineering faculty for this purpose. Data analysis showed that an engineering faculty's demographic characteristics…

In this study, we leverage national data sources to examine the relationship between community colleges' level of reliance on local funding and their total institutional revenue, focusing specifically on community colleges educating the largest shares of low-income and racially minoritized students. We show that local funding is positively related…

We present a model of capital that expands existing models to introduce two new forms of capital (time and body capital) as sources of inequity in education. The aim is to (a) make visible core resources that are relevant to educational outcomes and also (often hidden) sources of inequity, (b) identify commonalities across diverse empirical and…

Freshman seminars are a ubiquitous offering in higher education, but they have not been evaluated using matched comparisons with data at scale. In this work, we use transcript data on over 76,000 students to examine the impact of first-year interest groups (FIGs) on student graduation and retention. We first apply propensity score matching on…

Women of color (WOC) continue to be underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), where they often experience racism and sexism within disciplinary contexts that have historically privileged men and Whiteness. Participant narratives gained through focus-group and follow-up interviews illuminate the…

Prior research demonstrates the important role that financial considerations play in prospective students' decision making when applying to and enrolling in graduate school. Racially/ethnically minoritized students, in particular, face persistent challenges during the graduate application and enrollment process. Capitalizing on a natural…

Empirical data show that the COVID-19 pandemic deepened and exacerbated social inequalities, to the detriment of low-income communities of color. Using the law as a conceptual framework and legal research methodology, this study examines education law against the exacerbated social inequalities low-income students of color faced during the…

States provide substantial support for higher education through appropriations to public colleges and universities that can be used to maintain relatively low tuition levels and funds for financial aid. Higher education often receives disproportionate cuts during recessionary periods, and it faces potentially unprecedented reductions in coming…

Leaders from marginalized groups disproportionately shoulder emotional labor resulting from the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in higher education. This emotional burden can lead to stress and mental health consequences. Institutions bear the responsibility of addressing the emotional burden. This multiple-case qualitative study…

Some states have enacted inclusive policies that reduce constraints and uncertainty for undocumented students, potentially changing their academic decisions and postsecondary goals. We explore shifts in continuing undocumented community college students' course-taking before and after the California DREAM Act, which provided access to state…

Meeting college students' basic needs is the goal of a new set of student success initiatives that address students' urgent food, housing, or financial hardships in an effort to help them remain and succeed in college. Focusing on one California public university, we describe one such basic needs program, identifying the students who participate,…