Ivan Valdovinos

Research Fellow

My commitment to higher education access and equity stems from my own experiences navigating inequitable educational systems and structures as a first-generation, low-income child of Mexican immigrants. Growing up in rural Washington State exposed me to the inequities rural students of color face as they try to access a college education. Therefore, I have dedicated my personal and professional career to conducting rigorous research that informs higher education policies and practices so that students with similar backgrounds as mine have greater access to higher education.

Ivan Valdovinos Gutierrez is a community college and transfer scholar-practitioner whose research examines how students, families, and higher education institutions collectively shape equitable transfer pathways for historically marginalized and underrepresented students with a particular focus on Latina/o/x students. His research interests derive from his 8 years of professional experience managing multimillion dollar federal and state grant programs providing college access and success resources to hundreds of first-generation, low-income students from historically marginalized communities.