Education Policy Seminars 2010-11

The Education Policy Seminars bring distinguished scholars to the Institute to address critical issues and cutting-edge research in higher education.

“Socioeconomic Impacts of College: What We Know and What We Can Do About It”

Greg Wolniak earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Iowa State University, his master’s degree in Economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and his Ph.D. in Social Foundations from The University of Iowa in 2004. Wolniak’s research interests are located at the intersection of the broad fields of education, economics, and sociology. Typically, his research focuses on how educational choices impact individuals once they complete their formal schooling and enter the labor market.

“Math Assessment and Placement Practices in California Community Colleges: Evidence from Los Angeles”

Tatiana Melguizo works in the field of economics of higher education. She uses quantitative methods of analysis and large-scale longitudinal survey data to study the impact of institutional characteristics as well as public policies on the persistence and educational outcomes of minority (African American and Hispanic) and low-income students. Specifically, she studies the impact of first attending either a selective institution or a community college on minority and low-income student college completion. She has also studied the relationship between faculty productivity and earnings. Dr. Melguizo received an M.A. in Social Policy from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. in Economics of Education from Stanford University. Her work has been published in Teachers College Record, The Journal

of Higher Education, The Review of Higher Education, and Research in Higher Education. She is a recipient of the American Education Research Association (AERA) dissertation grant. Dr. Melguizo has also received grants from the Spencer foundation, AERA, the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, Jack Kent Cooke, Nellie Mae and Lumina foundations and from the Association for Institutional Research, National Postsecondary Education Cooperative (AIR/NPEC).

“Unionization and the Modern Professoriate in the [Long] 1930s”

Tim Cain’s research explores historical and modern issues involving faculty work and faculty workers. He examines faculty unionization, academic freedom, tenure, and academic administration. His current focus is on the earliest faculty unions affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers and the Congress of Industrial Workers. While most accounts trace faculty unions to the mid-1960s, he demonstrates that they date to 1918 and include an array of reasons for and reactions to organizing. This work explores issues of professionalization, politically motivated dismissals and attacks, and the ability of academic administrators to foster or forestall academic freedom.