About

Frank Fernandez is an Associate Professor of Higher Education Administration & Policy and affiliate faculty with the Center for Latin American Studies at University of Florida. He writes about educational equity and policy issues. Fernandez has authored or co-authored articles published, or accepted by, American Educational Research Journal, Educational Researcher, Research in Higher Education, The Review of Higher Education, Journal of College Student Development, Higher Education, among others. His research has been funded by groups such as Arnold Ventures, Spencer Foundation, and William T. Grant Foundation.

Research Interests

Higher Education, Higher Education Policy, International Education

Education

• Ph.D. in Higher Education, 2017 The Pennsylvania State University
• M.A. in Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies, 2011 Stanford University
• B.A. in Political Science, 2010 University of San Diego
• A.S. in Business Administration, 2008 Imperial Valley College
• A.A. in Social Science, 2008 Imperial Valley College

Professional Appointments

• Assistant Professor of Higher Education, University of Florida, 2021-present
• Assistant Professor of Higher Education, The University of Mississippi, 2019-2021
• Assistant Professor of Higher Education, University of Houston, 2017-2019

Activities and Honors

• Member-at-Large, Executive Committee of the Council on Public Policy in Higher Education (CPPHE), Association for the Study of Higher Education, 2019-2021
• First-Place Winner of the Outstanding Dissertation Competition, American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, 2018
• Award for Significant Research in International Higher Education, Association for the Study of Higher Education's Council on International Higher Education, 2017

Selected Grants

Selected Publications

Articles

• Fernandez, F., Mason, S., Saetermoe, C. L., & Chavira, G. (In Press). Evaluating mentorship programs: Survey items for improving student affairs practice. Journal of College Student Development.
• 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).
• Fernandez, F. (2021). Turnout for what?: Do colleges prepare informed voters? Educational Researcher, 50(9), 677-678.
• 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
• Hu, X., Fernandez, F., & Gandara, D. (2020). 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. (2019). What’s money got to do with it? An examination of the relationships between sources of financial support and the post-graduation career plans of Latina and Latino doctoral students in the social sciences. The Review of Higher Education, 43(1), 143-168. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2019.0093

Books / Book Chapters

• Coulson, H. L., Zou, Y., & Fernandez, F. (2022). Transformational university leadership: A case study for 21st century leaders and aspirational research universities. Emerald Publishing.
• Ro, H. K., Fernandez, F., & Ramon, E. (Eds.). (2022). Gender equity in STEM in higher education: International perspectives on policy, institutional culture, and individual choice. Routledge.
• Gonzalez, E. M., Fernandez, F., & Wilson, M. (Eds.). (2021). An asset-based approach to advancing Latina students in STEM: Increasing resilience, participation, and success. Routledge.
• Gonzalez, E. M., Fernandez, F., & Wilson, M. (Eds.). (2021). An asset-based approach to advancing Latina students in STEM: Increasing resilience, participation, and success. Routledge.
• LaBanc, B. H., Fernandez, F., Hutchens, N., & Melear, K. B. (2020). The contested campus: Aligning professional values, social justice, and free speech. NASPA.
• Powell, J. J. W., Baker, D. P., & Fernandez, F. (Eds.). (2017). The century of science: The global triumph of the research university (Vol. 33). Emerald Publishing. (Reprinted in paperback in 2019)