Adrian H. Huerta

  • Assistant Professor of Education

Research Concentration

  • Higher Education

Education

PhD, Education, University of California, Los Angeles 

MA, Higher Education, University of California, Los Angeles

MA, Educational Policy & Leadership, The Ohio State University

BS, Human Services Counseling, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Expertise

  • Boys and men of color • College access and success • Gang-involved populations • High school to college transition • Student parents in higher education
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Adrian H.  Huerta

Contact Information

Websites and Social Media

Research Center

Bio

Adrian H. Huerta is a faculty member in the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the Rossier School of Education and the Department of Population & Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine (by courtesy), both at the University of Southern California. Dr. Huerta is a leading expert on the social and academic experiences of active and former/inactive gang-involved people across the educational pipeline. Through sociocultural perspectives and qualitative methods, he examines individual and structural factors that impact college access and success, boys and men of color, student parents, and gang-involved populations. Dr. Huerta has secured more than $2.1 million in local, state, federal, and philanthropic dollars for research, evaluation, fellowships, and contractual projects tied to his research agenda. Some funders include, the U.S. Department of Education, the ECMC Foundation, the College Futures Foundation, and California Community Foundation, and various others. His more than 25 peer-reviewed research papers appear in some of the leading education journals including, The Review of Higher Education, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Journal of College Student Development, Community College Review, The Urban Review, Urban Education, and many other outlets. He is a past co-winner of the American Sociological Association Julia Anna Cooper Early Career Award from the Sociology of Education section, a recipient of the Postdoctoral Fellowship from the National Academy of Education and Spencer Foundation, an Early Career Award from the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). He earned his PhD and M.A. in education from UCLA; an M.A. in Educational Policy & Leadership from The Ohio State University, B.S. in Human Services Counseling from UNLV, and attended both the College of Southern Nevada and Santa Barbara City College as a part-time student.  

Awards and Grants

American Sociological Association (ASA) Sociology of Education - Anna Julia Copper Early Career Award, 2024 (co-winner)
USC Rossier School of Education, Excellence in Research Award, 2023
Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) Early Career Award, 2022
National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, 2022-2024
ACPA Men and Masculinities Outstanding Research Award, 2022
Health Equity Fellow in Training (HEFT), Health Affairs, 2021-2022
Visiting Scholar, Harvard University, Graduate School of Education (Spring 2020 - COVID-19)
Emerging Poverty Scholar, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Poverty-Scholar-in-Residence, West Coast Poverty Center, University of Washington; 
Diversity Scholar, National Center for Institutional Diversity, University of Michigan; 
HEOC Faculty Award, UCLAA; 
Minority Dissertation Fellow, American Educational Research Association (AERA) 

Courses Taught

EDUC 661: Equity in College and Career Access (Fall 2019)
EDUC 651: Introduction to Qualitative Methods (Summer 2020; Fall 2020; Summer 2022)
EDUC 658: School-to-Prison Nexus (Fall 2021) 

 

Publications

Professional Affiliations and Memberships

Assistant Professor of Education (tenure-track), Rossier School of Education, 8/2019 - Present
Assistant Professor of Population & Public Health Sciences (courtesy), Keck School of Medicine, 7/2024 - Present
Provost Postdoctoral Scholar, Pullias Center for Higher Education, Rossier School of Education, USC, 8/2017 - 8/2019
Research Affiliate, University of Texas, Austin, Project MALES, 8/2016 – present
Postdoctoral Research Scholar, UCLA Higher Education Research Institute (HERI), 7/2016 – 7/2018 
Research Assistant, UCLA, 10/2011 – 6/2016
Assistant Director, USC, Office of the Provost, McNair Scholars Program, 3/2011 – 8/2011
Program Coordinator, USC, McNair Scholars Program, 3/2010 – 3/2011
Academic Advisor, USC, Rossier School of Education, Master of Arts in Teaching, 6/2009 – 3/2010

Contracts/Grants

Funder: California Community Foundation. 
Amount: 50,000
PI
Duration: 2024-2026

Funder: ECMC Foundation
Amount: 159,203
PI
Duration: 2022-2023

Funder: U.S. Department of Education
Amount: 990,000
co-PI. 
Duration: 2021-2024
Title: LBCC Phoenix Scholars: Supporting gang-involved youth and young adults into postsecondary education
 
Funder: CSU Student Success Network
PI
Amount: 38,500
Duration: 2020-2021
 
Funder: ECMC Foundation
PI
Amount: 9,350
Duration: 2020

Funder: Institute for Research on Poverty
PI
Amount: 20,000
Duration: 2019-2021

Funder: ECMC Foundation
Amount: 300,000
Duration: 2018-2021

Funder: The Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions
Amount: ~45,000 (25K from community college partner) 
Duration: 2018-2020