Gilberto Q. Conchas

Gilberto Q. Conchas obtained a Ph.D. and M.A. in Sociology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a B.A. in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently the Inaugural Wayne K. and Anita Woolfolk Hoy Endowed Chair of Education at the Pennsylvania State University and a Center for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) research associate. Prior to Penn State, Dr. Conchas was Professor of Educational Policy and Social Context at the University of California, Irvine, Assistant Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Senior Program Officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Conchas is an expert on qualitative research methods, with a particular focus on case study methodology. Conchas’ research focuses on inequality with an emphasis on communities and schools. A sociologist, widely published scholar, and experienced university administrator, Conchas has designed and led mentoring programs, has a well-honed awareness of the experiences of racially minoritized students and faculty, and draws on these experiences to advocate for pathways to better diversify higher education institutions. Numerous scholarly journals have published his work. He is the author of ten books, including the award winning The Color of Success: Race and High-Achieving Urban Youth; Small Schools and Urban Youth: Using the Power of School Culture to Engage Youth; StreetSmart SchoolSmart: Urban Poverty and the Education of Boys of Color; and Cracks in the Schoolyard—Confronting Latino Educational Inequality, and Race Frames in Education. His current coauthored book, The Chicana/o/x Dream: Hope, Resistance, and Educational Success, was conferred the 2021 Book-of-the-Year Award from the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE). Conchas was also named the 2022 Sylvia Hurtado University Faculty Award for teaching and research from AAHHE.