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Laura W. Perna
Associate Professor
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Education
1988: B.A., Psychology and B.S., Economics, University of
Pennsylvania
1992: M.P.P., Public Policy, University of Michigan
1997: Ph.D., Education, University of Michigan
Areas of Expertise
Access and equity in higher education
College affordability & choice
Federal involvement in pre-college education
Professional Biography
Dr. Perna joined the faculty as associate professor in 2005.
Prior to her appointment at Penn GSE, she served on the faculty at the
University of Maryland, College Park; as a research scientist and director of
data analysis, as well as acting director, at the Frederick Patterson Research
Institute of the United Negro College Fund; and as director of institutional
research at the University of Dallas.
Her research has been supported by grants from the American
Educational Research Association, the Association for Institutional Research,
University of Maryland General Research Board, and the Lumina Foundation for
Education. She serves as a member of the technical review group for the GEAR UP
follow-up evaluation, the technical work group of the Upward Bound program
five-year evaluation, the technical review panel for the National Postsecondary
Student Aid Study, the external advisory committee for the National Council of
Higher Education Loan Programs, and the Lumina Foundation for Education’s
Research Advisory Committee.
In addition, she serves or has served on the editorial
boards of the Review of Higher Education, the Journal of College Student
Development, and the Journal of the Professoriate, and is a consulting editor
for Research in Higher Education. In 2003, the Association for the Study of
Higher Education awarded her the Promising Scholar/Early Career Achievement
Award. Laura Perna was elected to the Board of the Association for the Study of
Higher Education in 2007.
Research Interests and Current Projects
Her scholarship uses an integrated theoretical approach and
a variety of analytic techniques to understand the ways in which individual
characteristics, social structures, and public policies separately and together
enable and restrict the ability of women, racial/ethnic minorities, and
individuals of lower socioeconomic status to obtain the economic, social, and
political opportunities that are associated with two aspects of higher
education: access as a student and employment as a faculty member.
Selected Publications
Perna, L. W., Gerald, D., Baum, E., & Milem, J. F.
(2007). The status of equity for Black faculty and administrators in public
higher education in the South. Research
in Higher Education, 48, 193-228. AIR Forum Issue.
Perna, L. W. (2006). Understanding the relationship between information about college costs
and financial aid and students’ college-related behaviors. American Behavioral Scientist, 49, 1620-1635.
Perna, L. W., & Li, C. (2006). College affordability for
middle-income students: Implications for college opportunity. Journal of Student Financial Aid, 36(1),
7-24.
Perna, L. W. (2006). Studying college choice: A proposed
conceptual model. In J. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher Education: Handbook of theory
and research, Vol. XXI (pp. 99-157). Springer.
Johnson, J. N., Conrad, C. F., & Perna, L. W. (2006).
Minority-serving institutions of higher education: Building upon and extending
lines of inquiry for the advancement of the public good. In C. F. Conrad and R.
Serlin (Eds.), SAGE handbook on research in education: Engaging ideas and
enriching inquiry (pp. 263-277). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Perna, L. W., Milem, J. F., Gerald, G., Baum, E., Rowan, H.,
& Hutchens, N. (2006). The status of equity for Black undergraduates in
public higher education in the South. Research in Higher Education, 47,
197-228. AIR Forum Issue.
Perna, L. W. (2005). The benefits of higher education: Sex,
racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic group differences. Review of Higher Education,
29, 23-52.
Perna, L.W., & Titus, M. (2005). The relationship
between parental involvement as social capital and college enrollment: An
examination of racial/ethnic group differences. Journal of Higher Education,
76, 485-518.
Perna, L. W. (2005). Sex differences in faculty tenure and
promotion: The contribution of family ties. Research in Higher Education, 46,
277-307
Perna, L. W., Steele, P., Woda, S., & Hibbert, T.
(2005). State public policies and the racial/ethnic stratification of college
access and choice in the state of Maryland. Review of Higher Education, 28,
245-272.
Perna, L.W. (2004). Understanding the decision to enroll in
graduate school: Sex and racial/ethnic group differences. Journal of Higher
Education, 75, 487-527.
Perna, L.W., & Titus, M. (2004). Understanding
differences in the choice of college attended: The role of state public
policies. Review of Higher Education, 27(4), 501-525.
Perna, L.W. (2003). The private benefits of higher education: An examination of the earnings premium. Research in Higher Education, 44, 451-472.
Perna, L.W. (2003). The status of women and minorities among community college faculty. Research in Higher Education, 44, 205-240.
Perna, L.W. (2002). Sex differences in the supplemental earnings of college and university faculty. Research in Higher Education, 43, 31-58.
Perna, L. W. (2002). Pre-college outreach programs: Characteristics of programs serving historically underrepresented groups of students. Journal of College Student Development, 43, 64-83.
Perna, L.W. (2001). Sex and race differences in faculty tenure and promotion. Research in Higher Education, 42, 541-567.
Perna, L.W. (2001). The relationship between family responsibilities and employment status among college and university faculty. Journal of Higher Education, 72, 584-611.
Perna, L.W. (2001). Sex differences in faculty salaries: A cohort analysis. Review of Higher Education, 24, 283-307.
Perna, L.W. (2001). The contribution of historically Black colleges and universities to the preparation of African Americans for faculty careers. Research in Higher Education, 42, 267-294.
Perna, L.W. (2000). Differences in the decision to enroll in college among African Americans, Hispanics, and Whites. Journal of Higher Education, 71, 117-141.
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