Luis Ponjuan earned his Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Michigan, master’s degree from the Florida State University, and bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of New Orleans. He is a first-generation Cuban immigrant and college graduate.
Ponjuan is an Associate Professor of Higher Education Administration and the Executive Director of the IDEAL (Investing in Diversity, Equity, Access, and Learning) research project in the Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development in the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. He has 20 years of professional higher education work experience by also working at the University of Florida, University of Michigan, and Florida State University.
Over the years, he has developed a comprehensive research agenda focused on access and equity in higher education for underrepresented students and faculty members of color. He has published in premier higher education academic journals, including Research in Higher Education, Journal of Higher Education, Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, and Thought and Action. He has also written higher education policy briefs for national education organizations such as Institute for Higher Education Policy- IHEP. And he has presented at national educational research conferences, including AERA, ASHE, NASPA, and AIR, The White House and the United States Congress, College Board, the National Education Association, and the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education. He has earned three-quarters of a million dollars in research grant funding from organizations like TG Foundation, University of Florida, Texas A&M University, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Due to his research agenda and professional accomplishments, Dr. Ponjuan earned the 2014 Outstanding New Faculty member for the Texas A&M University, College of Education and Human Development. The college also selected him as the 2013-2014 College of Education and Human Development Aggies Commit to Transforming Lives Administrative Fellow. National organizations also recognized him for his research work. Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) awarded him the 2009 Faculty Fellow award and the 2003 Graduate Student Fellow award.
Selected Publications:
“Redefining Civic Engagement: A Developmental Model of Students’ Civic-Related Capabilities.” With Cynthia M. Alcantar, and Krista M. Soria. Civic Engagement and Community Service at Research Universities. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2016. 99-122.
“The Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color.” With Victor Sáenz. (2016).
“Latino Males in American High Schools: An Examination of the 2012 High School Longitudinal Study.” In Ensuring the Success of Latino Males in Higher Education: A National Imperative . Eds. Victor B. Sáenz, Luis Ponjuán, and Julie L. Figueroa. London: Stylus, 2016.
“Developing a Latino Mentoring Program: Project MALES (Mentoring to Achieve Latino Educational Success).” With Sáenz, Victor B., et al. New Directions for Higher Education 2015.171 (2015): 75-85.
“Latino Male Ethnic Subgroups: Patterns in College Enrollment and Degree Completion.” With Leticia Palomin and Angela Calise. New Directions for Higher Education 2015.172 (2015): 59-69.
“Support and barriers for Latino male students’ educational pursuits: Perceptions of counselors and administrators.” With Clark, Mary Ann, et al. Journal of Counseling & Development 91.4 (2013): 458-466.“Career stage differences in pre-tenure track faculty perceptions of professional and personal relationships with colleagues.” With Valerie Martin Conley, and Cathy Trower. The Journal of Higher Education 82.3 (2011): 319-346.
“Men of Color: Ensuring the Academic Success of Latino Males in Higher Education.” With Victor B. Sáenz. Institute for Higher Education Policy (2011).
“Learning science through research apprenticeships: A critical review of the literature.” With Sadler, Troy D., et al. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 47.3 (2010): 235-256.
“The vanishing Latino male in higher education.” With Victor Sáenz. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education (2008).
“Latino educational outcomes and the campus climate.” With Sylvia Hurtado. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education 4.3 (2005): 235-251.
“The impact of the college experience on students’ learning for a diverse democracy.” With Sylvia Hurtado and Mark E. Engberg. Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Portland, OR. 2003.
“Students’ pre-college preparation for participation in a diverse democracy.” With Hurtado, Sylvia, et al. Research in Higher Education 43.2 (2002): 163-186.