Expert researcher in education and social policy joins UD as an associate professor

This January, the University of Delaware College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) welcomes Dominique Baker, who joins UD as an associate professor in CEHD’s School of Education and the Joseph R. Biden Jr., School of Public Policy and Administration with a specialization in education and social policy.

Baker’s research focuses on the way that education policy affects and shapes the access and success of minoritized students in higher education. She investigates student financial aid, admissions policies and other policies that influence the creation of an inclusive, equitable campus climate. Her current projects include funded research on the media’s role in constructing the public and policy actors’ understanding of race, racism and student loans (funded by the Russell Sage Foundation and the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation) and test-optional admissions policies (funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation). 

“I’m excited to start contributing to the University of Delaware’s scholarly communities focused on education and social policy,” Baker said. ‘I’m thrilled with the exceptional variety of opportunities for me to continue pursuing research, teaching and service that can help create a more just society.” 

Baker’s work has been published in the American Educational Research Journal, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Educational Researcher, the Journal of Higher Education and the Journal of College Student Development. She has also testified before the U.S. Senate about race, racism and student loans.

Her work and expertise have also been highlighted by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and NPR, among others. In addition, she frequently authors research briefs and articles on the state of higher education policy research for the public published by organizations like the Brookings Institution. 

In recognition of the impact and promise of her scholarly career, she is the current American Educational Research Association Early Career Award winner, a National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation postdoctoral fellow and past recipient of the Association for Education Finance and Policy’s Early Career Award and the Association for the Study of Higher Education’s Excellence in Public Policy Award. Baker also joins UD as a John and Patricia Cochran Scholar of Inclusive Excellence.

In line with her research foci, Baker will teach and advise students in CEHD’s Ph.D. in Education program and in UD’s interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Education and Social Policy program, housed in the UD Graduate College.

Baker earned her Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University. She earned her M.Ed. in Student Affairs Practice in Higher Education and B.A. in Psychology from the University of Virginia. Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., Baker served as an assistant dean in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Virginia.

Article by Jessica Henderson. Photo courtesy of Dominique Baker.