In 2015, the Minnesota Legislature passed statute 135A.012 Higher Education Goal, which enacted a goal that 70% of Minnesota adults (ages 25-44) will have attained a postsecondary certificate or degree by 2025. In recognition of existing gaps in attainment, the law also sets 30% and 50% educational attainment benchmarks for all races and…

We use data from 2015-2016 to document faculty representation and wage gaps by race-ethnicity and gender in six fields at selective public universities. Consistent with widely available information, Black, Hispanic, and female professors are underrepresented and White and Asian professors are overrepresented in our data. Disadvantaged minority and…

This dissertation is a sociophonetic analysis of the English spoken by Hmong Americans living in the "Twin Cities" of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. The Twin Cities has the largest urban population of Hmong Americans in the United States. Through studies of production and perception of vowels involved in sound changes, I…

Minnesota has been recognized by several studies as a state with a significant amount of racial disparity in its child protection system. This study, using 2001 data from Minnesota's Social Services Information Service, was conducted to determine at which of the six decision points in Minnesota's child welfare system racial disparities are…

Examined whether associations between prenatal substance use and birth and infant outcomes varied by maternal age and race. Data on all singleton live births in Minnesota from 1990-98 indicated that poor birth outcomes and infant death were generally lower for whites than for African Americans and American Indians. Prenatal substance use varied by…

This study discusses the racial and ethnic composition of Minnesota's children and child care providers, focusing on the need for more multi-ethnic, culturally-appropriate programming for the increasing number of children of color in the state. A 1992 survey of 1,003 day care centers and 35 Head Start programs found disparities between numbers of…