Rosa Acevedo, PhD

I completed a two year Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Texas at Austin in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy in the College of Education under the supervision of Dr. Denisa Gandara. In this role, I managed a study funded by the William T. Grant Foundation examining racial equity and free-college program policy design. Specifically, we examine how free college programs (also known as Promise programs) in the United States are designed and how Promise program features (e.g., eligibility criteria and compliance requirements) differentially affect ethnoracially minoritized students. We aim to understand how specific free college program features differentially affect ethnoracially minoritized students using these frameworks. Through this mixed-methods research project, we seek to reduce barriers that marginalized students face in their quest for education by influencing equitable policy design and implementation of free college programs. Beyond the Postdoctoral Fellowship, my research investigates how ethnoracially minoritized students in higher education navigate international experiences. I seek to understand the drivers and consequences of educational mobility and immobility across social groups. In particular, my research assesses the study abroad experiences of ethnoracially minoritized first-generation, low-income students who are largely absent in literature and whose lives are shaped by historical, institutional, systematic, and societal dynamics that require unpacking. My research identifies the different histories of mobility and immobility of marginalized communities and analyzes their impact on their educational experiences and outcomes. In the Fall of 2024, I will begin my journey as an Assistant Professor of Practice in Higher Education in the Department of Educational Foundations, Organizations, and Policy in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh.