The Pullias Center for Higher Education honored with 2024 Special Merit Award from the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)

The Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) has selected the Pullias Center for Higher Education as this year’s recipient of the ASHE Special Merit Award. This distinction is presented annually to a person, group or organization in recognition of outstanding achievement and impactful contributions to the study of higher education through research, leadership and practice.

“The Pullias Center for Higher Education has been a vital force in advancing research and scholarship in the field of higher education for over 30 years, providing crucial resources for early-career scholars and supporting equity-focused research. The Center has also championed research-practice partnerships, transforming educational policies and practices in collaboration with the Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles Community College District and Cal State campuses,” noted ASHE in their announcement of the award. “With a commitment to innovative research on underserved topics like college access, marginalized students and non-tenure track faculty, the Pullias Center continues to push the field forward, offering open-access research that serves as a public good for scholars and institutions.”

“We are so honored to receive this award from ASHE for our contributions to the field, particularly around our work on research-practice partnerships, as well as supporting and mentoring early career faculty and students,” stated Pullias Center Director Adrianna Kezar, who also serves as the Wilbur-Kieffer Professor of Higher Education at USC’s Rossier School of Education. “I’m so proud of the work my colleagues do to advance equity in higher education. This award acknowledges the impact that we have had on policy, practice and research.”

The 2024 ASHE Awards Ceremony will be held on Friday, Nov. 22 at 5:15 p.m. Central/ Minneapolis Time during the 49th Annual Conference in Minneapolis.

“For 30 years, the Pullias Center for Higher Education has been one of the world’s leading research centers focusing on addressing the most pressing issues facing higher education. The Center’s groundbreaking work continues to shape policies and practices that promote equity and opportunity throughout higher education. USC Rossier School of Education is deeply proud of the Pullias Center and congratulates its team for earning this prestigious recognition from ASHE. We look forward to continuing to support the Pullias Center and its critically important work,” said USC Rossier School of Education Dean Pedro Noguera.

USC’s Pullias Center for Higher Education is the world’s leading research center on student access and success in higher education. The Center is focused on advancing equity in higher education and providing innovative, scalable solutions to both improve college outcomes for underserved students and enhancing the performance of postsecondary institutions. Begun in 1995 as a University of Southern California Rossier research center focused on higher education policy and practice, the Earl and Pauline Pullias Center for Higher Education was established in 2012 with a generous bequest from the Pullias Family estate.

The mission of the Pullias Center for Higher Education is to bring a multidisciplinary perspective to complex social, political and economic issues in higher education. The Center’s work is devoted to the key issues of college access, retention, and accountability for underserved students—and the effectiveness of the colleges and universities that serve them. Both directly and through research, Pullias Center faculty and researchers engage with institutional leaders, policymakers and the community at large to address the major challenges in educational equity today.