Google Scholar YouTube video (University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement) YouTube video (Video Toolkit on Using Statistics and Intersectionality Frameworks)
Frank Fernandez is Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at University of Wisconsin, Madison. He teaches graduate courses on organizational theory and education finance. His work emphasizes higher education’s potential for promoting the public good through three strands of research. First, concerned with the role of higher education in society, especially in regard to the increasing importance of scientific research and human capital for the post-industrial knowledge economy, his research addresses equity issues related to knowledge production in higher education. Second, shedding light on higher education as a social institution, he examines how higher education influences and reflects larger social and political forces in society. Third, as it becomes increasingly clear that we need anti-racist approaches to undo the harms of race-neutral public policy, his scholarship addresses equity consequences of policies and initiatives on diverse faculty and student groups.
Select Media Contributions
- Fernandez, F. & Hutchens, N., The Institute for College Access and Success Blogs, Regulating college mergers: The devil is in the details. (January, 2024). Media Link
- Fernandez, F. & Hutchens, N., The Institute for College Access and Success Blogs, Beware the Trojan Phoenix: Three approaches to regulating corporatization of non-profit higher education. (September, 2023). Media Link
- Fernandez, F. & Hutchens, N., Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, Florida: State rights over individual rights. (October, 2022). Media Link
- Fernandez, F. & Capaldi, M., The Conversation, Studying political science motivates college students to register and vote—new research shows. (October, 2021). Media Link
- Fernandez, F., & Coulson, H. L., Times Higher Education, Universities need to look disaster resilience in the eye. (May, 2021). Media Link
Select Publications
- Fernandez, F., Chykina, V., & Lin, Y. C. (2024). Science at risk? Considering the importance of academic freedom for STEM research production across 17 OECD countries. PLOS One https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298370.
- Hutchens, N. H., & Fernandez, F. (2023). Academic freedom as a professional, constitutional, and human right: Contemporary challenges and directions for research. L. W. Perna (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research, 38, 1-54. Springer.
- Hu, X., & Fernandez, F. (2023). An ADVANCE for whom? A national study of initiatives to improve faculty gender equity. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737231197683.
- Fernandez, F., Fu, Y. C., Hu, X., & Moradel, J. J. (2023). Examining the influence of Texas strategic plan for increasing university research: Loose coupling and research production at regional public universities. Journal of Higher Education, 95(3), 373-398. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2023.2192161.
- Fernandez, F., Hu, X., & Umbricht, M. R. (2023). Examining Wyoming’s endowment challenge program: A synthetic control analysis. Research in Higher Education, 64 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-022-09722-7.
- Fernandez, F., Mason, S., Saetermoe, C. L., & Chavira, G. (2022). Evaluating mentorship programs: Survey items for improving student affairs practice. Journal of College Student Development, 63(2), 223-228. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2022.0017.
- Fernandez, F., Ro, H. K., & Wilson, M. (2022). The color of law school: Examining gender and race intersectionality in law school admissions. American Journal of Education, 128(3) https://doi.org/10.1086/719119.
- Hu, X., Fernandez, F., & Gandara, D. (2021). Are donations bigger in Texas? Analyzing the impact of a policy to match donations to Texas emerging research universities. American Educational Research Journal, 58(4), 850-882. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831220968947.
- Fernandez, F., Coulson, H. L., & Zou, Y. (2021). Leading in the eye of a storm: How one team of administrators exercised disaster resilience. Higher Education, 83(4), 929-944. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00716-5.
- Fernandez, F. (2021). Turnout for what? Do colleges prepare informed voters? Educational Researcher, 50(9), 677-678. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X211045982.
Select Awards and Honors
- Fellow, University of California Center for Free Speech & Civic Engagement, (2023–2024)
- Early Career Scholar Award, University of California Center for Free Speech & Civic Engagement Fellow, 2023
- Academic Freedom Research Fellowship, Scholars at Risk Network and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, 2022
- Book of the Year Award for An Asset-Based Approach to Advancing Latina Students in STEM, American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, 2022
- Salzburg Global Fellow: Center for Education Transformation, Salzburg Global Seminar, 2022
- First-place winner of the Outstanding Dissertation Competition, American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, 2018
- PROSE award in the category of Education Theory for The Century of Science, Association of American Publishers, 2018
- Award for significant research in international higher education for The Century of Science, Association for the Study of Higher Education’s Council on International Higher Education, 2017