Cynthia M. Alcantar is an Associate Professor and Director of the Higher Education Administration program in the School of Education at LMU. Before joining LMU, she was an Assistant Professor of Higher Education Leadership at the University of Nevada, Reno, and held postdoctoral fellowships from the Consortium for Faculty Diversity (2018-2019) and the Institute for Global-Local Action & Study (2017-2018) at Pitzer College.
Her research focuses on the social structures that impact the social mobility and integration of racial/ethnic minoritized and immigrant populations in the United States. Particularly, the influence of schools (i.e., public K-20 schools, community colleges, and Minority Serving Institutions) on the educational pathways and civic participation of racial/ethnic minoritized and immigrant students.
Her research has been published in The Review of Higher Education, Teachers College Record, Harvard Educational Review, Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, Qualitative Psychology, and a co-edited book on race and education published through Teachers College Press. She has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work, including the American Educational Research Association’s Latina/o/x Research Issues SIG Early Career Scholar Award in 2022, the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award in 2021, and the first-place award for the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education & Educational Testing Service Outstanding Dissertation Competition in 2019.
In addition to her scholarship, she has extensive experience working in K-12 and higher education settings, including TRIO grant programs at Norco Community College and Claremont Graduate University, the Title V Hispanic Serving Institutions grant program at Mount St. Mary’s College, Norte Vista High School, and John Adams Elementary in Riverside, CA. She also consults with school districts, community colleges, and four-year colleges concerning the campus climate and culture for supporting underserved student populations.