The Annual Catherine McLaughlin Hakim ’70 Lecture proudly presents
Thursday, April 4, 2024, 4:00 p.m.
Rethinking College Admissions in the Wake of the US Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Decision
Dr. Natasha Warikoo
Stern Professor in the Social Sciences, Tufts University
In person and virtual lecture followed by a question-and-answer session and reception.
Janet M. Daley Library Lecture Hall
Emmanuel College, 400 The Fenway, Boston
*Advance questions for Dr. Warikoo are encouraged, please submit them with your registration.
Natasha Warikoo is the Stern Professor in the Social Sciences, Department of Sociology, at Tufts University. A former Guggenheim Fellow, Warikoo studies racial and ethnic inequality in education.
Her book, Race at the Top: Asian Americans and Whites in Pursuit of the American Dream in Suburban Schools (May 2022, University of Chicago Press), explores the growth of Asian Americans in suburban communities. In the book Is Affirmative Action Fair? The Myth of Equity in College Admissions, Warikoo argues that we should rethink college admissions and walks readers through empirical evidence suggesting the important value of affirmative action. She is also the author of The Diversity Bargain: And Other Dilemmas of Race, Admissions, and Meritocracy at Elite Universities.
Warikoo is co-chair of Scholars Strategy Network Boston, which aims to connect scholars, policymakers, and community leaders to effect change. Warikoo earned her BSc/BA in mathematics and philosophy at Brown University, and her Ph.D. in sociology at Harvard University. She is a former high school teacher.
Dr. Prudence Carter (October 12, 2022)
“Social Differentiation and the Discomfort of Change in Education and Society”
Dr. Prudence L. Carter is the Sarah and Joseph Jr. Dowling Professor of Sociology at Brown University. From 2016-2021, Dr. Carter was the E.H. and Mary E. Pardee Professor and Dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Carter's research focuses on forces behind enduring inequalities in education and society and their potential solutions. Specifically, she examines academic and mobility disparities shaped by the effects of race, ethnicity, class, and gender in the United States and global society. Her books include the award-winning Keepin’ It Real: School Success Beyond Black and White; Stubborn Roots: Race, Culture, and Inequality in U.S. & South African Schools; and Closing the Opportunity Gap: What America Must Do to Give Every Child an Even Chance, co-edited with Dr. Kevin Welner. Dr. Carter is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Education, Sociological Research Association, and the American Education Research Association.
Dr. David R. Williams (October 21, 2021)
“Understanding and Effectively Addressing Inequities in Health”
Dr. David R. Williams is the Florence and Laura Norman Professor of Public Health and Chair, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is also a Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. An internationally recognized social scientist, Dr. Williams research has enhanced our understanding of the ways in which socioeconomic status, race, stress, racism, health behavior and religious involvement can affect physical and mental health.
Roberto G. Gonzales (October 12, 2017)
"Lives in Limbo: Undocumented and Coming of Age in America"
Roberto G. Gonzales is a Professor of Education at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. His research focuses on the factors that promote and impede the educational progress of immigrant and Latino students. Since 2002 he has carried out one of the most comprehensive studies of undocumented immigrants in the United States. His book, Lives in Limbo: Undocumented and Coming of Age in America (University of California Press), is based on an in-depth study that followed 150 undocumented young adults in Los Angeles for twelve years. To date, Lives in Limbo has won five major book awards, including the prestigious Society for the Study of Social Problems C. Wright Mills Award, the American Education Research Association Outstanding Book Award, and the Law and Society Association Herbert Jacob Book Award.
Mario Luis Small, Ph.D. (October 5, 2016)
"Heterogeneity in U.S. Neighborhood Poverty"
Mario Luis Small, Ph.D., has published books and numerous articles on urban poverty, personal networks, and the relationship between qualitative and quantitative social science methods. Small's most recent book, Someone To Talk To, explores how people decide whom to approach when seeking confidants and studying the differences in the experience of ghetto poverty across American cities.
Callie Crossley (October 28, 2015)
"Narratives and Hashtags: The Media's Impact on Social Justice"
Crossley is host of WGBH’s Under the Radar with Callie Crossley, and her commentaries air on Mondays during the station’s Morning Edition. She is also a public speaker, media commentator and a regular contributor on NPR, CNN, Fox 25 Boston and PBS NewsHour. Crossley was a producer for the documentary series Eyes On the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, which earned her an Oscar nomination, a national Emmy, and major film and journalism awards, including the Gold Baton of the duPont-Columbia Awards.
Peggy McIntosh (April 14, 2015)
"Coming to See Privilege Systems: The Surprising Journey"
Peggy McIntosh, Ph.D., former associate director of the Wellesley Centers for Women, is the founder of the National SEED Project (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity). As a senior research scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women, McIntosh directs the Gender, Race, and Inclusive Education Project, which provides workshops on privilege systems, feelings of fraudulence, and diversifying workplaces, curricula, and teaching methods.
David Cunningham (March 18, 2014)
"Truth, Justice, and the Ku Klux Klan"
David Cunningham is Professor and Chair of Sociology and the Director of the Social Justice & Social Policy Program at Brandeis University. His current research, focused on the causes, consequences and legacy of racial violence, is supported by the National Science Foundation, the Spencer Foundation and the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation.
His latest book, Klansville, U.S.A.: The Rise and Fall of the Civil Rights-Era Ku Klux Klan, was published last year by Oxford University Press. Over the past decade, he also has worked as an advisor to the Greensboro (N.C.) Truth and Reconciliation Commission as well as the Mississippi Truth Project, a statewide effort to clarify racial history in Mississippi between 1945 and 1975, and served as an expert witness in several related court cases.
Michael Patrick MacDonald (October 16, 2012)
"All Souls: Finding Peace and Justice in Southie"
Michael Patrick MacDonald grew up in South Boston’s Old Colony housing project. After losing four siblings and seeing his generation decimated by poverty, crime, and addiction, he became a leading Boston activist, helping launch many antiviolence initiatives, including gun-buyback programs. He continues to work for social change nationally, collaborating with survivor families and young people.
MacDonald won the American Book Award in 2000. His national bestseller, All Souls, and his follow-up, Easter Rising: A Memoir of Roots and Rebellion have been adopted by university curricula across the country. MacDonald has written numerous essays for the Boston Globe Op-Ed Page and has completed the screenplay of All Souls for director Ron Shelton.
Dr. William Julius Wilson (November 15, 2011)
Dr. William Julius Wilson is the Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor and Director of Joblessness and Urban Poverty Research Program at Harvard University.