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Dr. Nancy López

Professor of Sociology at the University of New Mexico

Nancy Lopez

Dr. Nancy López is professor of sociology at the University of New Mexico. Dr. López directs/co-founded of the Institute for the Study of "Race" and Social Justice. Her scholarship, teaching and service are guided by the insights of intersectionality--the importance of examining the simultaneity of race, gender, class, ethnicity and other systems of inequalities across a variety of social outcomes, including education, health, employment, housing, for developing contextualized solutions that advance social justice.

Dr. López is author of Hopeful Girls, Troubled Boys: Race & Gender Disparity in Urban Education (2003); co-editor of, Creating Alternative Discourses in the Education of Latinas & Latinos (2003), Mapping "Race": Critical Approaches to Health Disparities Research (2013); and, QuantCrit: An Antiracist Approach to Education Equity (2023). Her current research, “Intersectionality as Inquiry and Praxis: Race-Gender-Class-Ethnicity for Student Success in STEM,” is funded by the NSF Hispanic Serving Institutions program.

Dr. López’s other current research projects are funded by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for a study on “Climate for Latino Students: Employing Intersectionality for Understanding Latino Student Success in Higher Education;” the Hewlett Foundation and the WT Grant Foundation for a mixed-methods research project on the impact of high school ethnic studies classes for reducing intersectional inequalities; and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for a study on “Employing and Intersectionality Framework in Revising Office of Management and Budget Standards for Collecting Administrative Race and Ethnicity Data" for illuminating the difference between race (visual social status/street race) and ethnicity (cultural heritage) for interrogating inequalities.

Dr. López is a Black Latina, New York City-born daughter of Dominican immigrants with a second grade education who gifted her with Spanish as her first language and rich cultural wealth. She is the first woman of color tenured in Sociology and the first woman of the African Diaspora tenured in the College of Arts and Sciences (2008) and promoted to full professor (2018) at UNM.


Panel Information

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2024

9:15 AM EST

Education Session: "Bridging The Gap In Latino Education" Focus On Educational Disparities And Solutions

Educational disparities faced by Latino students in the United States encompass various dimensions, including access to quality education, cultural relevance, and socio-economic factors. These disparities significantly impact the academic performance and future opportunities for Latino students.

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