Biography
My professional career has included administration in higher education as an Associate Chancellor, Director of an Educational Opportunity Program and a TRIO project Director. I currently enjoy a professorship in Education and Sociology that has afforded me the opportunity to contribute to the diversification of scholars in both Education research and research in the Sociology of Education.
Research Interests
My past research has focused on: 1) Educational Inequality; school desegregation effects (K-12, post-secondary), benefits and consequences; social organization of schools, status attainment research, co-and extracurricular activities, comparative education; 2) Race and Ethnicity: social stratification and mobility, equality of opportunity; and 3) Complex Organization/Social Change/Education Policy.
I was PI for a study of the Summer Research Opportunity Program in the CIC and PI for an NSF funded STEM study focused on Broadening participation and understanding STEM interventions supporting successful completion.
Courses Taught
My staple course has been the Sociology of Education course. In addition I offer seminars on Access to and in higher education; Education and Stratification, and Education Policy.
Additional Campus Affiliations
Professor Emeritus, Education Policy, Organization and Leadership
Recent Publications
Dixson, A. D., Ladson-Billings, G., Suarez, C. E., Trent, W. T., & Anderson, J. D. (Eds.) (2020). Condition or Process? Researching Race in Education. American Educational Research Association.
Simpson, A. T., Hebert, L., Rosu, L., Pollock, M., Trent, W., Baber, L., & Goddard, L. (2020). Impacting Teacher and Counselor Practices as They Support Traditionally Underrepresented Students to Pursue STEM Majors and Careers. In 2020 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, FIE 2020 - Proceedings [9274151] (Proceedings - Frontiers in Education Conference, FIE; Vol. 2020-October). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE44824.2020.9274151
Pak, Y. K., Span, C. M., Anderson, J. D., & Trent, W. T. (2018). Where do we go from here? Reflections on building institutional diversity for lasting change. Teachers College Record, 120(14).
Trent, W. T., Owens-Nicholson, D., & McKillip, M. (2008). Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places: High School Racial Composition, the Implications of Strategic Recruitment, and Becoming a GMS Scholar. In W. T. Trent, & E. P. St John (Eds.), Resources, Assets, and Strengths Among Successful Diverse Students: Understanding the Contributions of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program (pp. 1-15). AMS Press.
Trent, W. T., & St John, E. P. (Eds.) (2008). Resources, Assets, and Strengths Among Successful Diverse Students: Understanding the Contributions of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program. (Readings on Equal Education; Vol. 23). AMS Press.