William Perez discusses his book, We ARE Americans (August 2009)

William Perez

Associate Professor of Education

Ph.D. Stanford University
B.A. Pomona College

Biography

William Perez is an Associate Professor of Education. His research focuses on the social and psychological development of immigrant students. He also studies Latino academic achievement and higher education access. He is recognized as one of the nation’s leading experts on undocumented students. His book, We ARE Americans: Undocumented Students Pursuing the American Dream was awarded the 2009 Mildred Garcia Prize for Excellence in Research by the Association for the Study of Higher Education. He has been interviewed or quoted as an academic expert in various media outlets including NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, Telemundo and Univision national evening news, the Chicago Tribune, the LA Times, La Opinion, Hispanic Magazine, Colorlines, and NPR’s All Things Considered. In 2010, he received the Stanford University Distinguished Scholar Alumni Award. Most recently, Alma Magazine named him as one of four Lo Mejor de Nosotros (One of Our Best) in its 50th Anniversary Hispanic Heritage Month Edition. Before joining CGU, he worked at various research institutes including the RAND Corporation, the Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research, the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, and the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute.

Teaching Interests

• Immigrant youth in schools
• Educational Social & Cultural Capital
• Prejudice and Discrimination in Educational Settings
• Minority student access to higher education

Research Interests

• Immigration and acculturation
• Ethnic identity development
• Academic achievement, achievement motivation
• Minority student access to higher education
• Effect of discrimination and stereotypes on academic achievement of minority students
• Education of Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Populations

Publications, Projects, and Presentations

• Perez, W. (2012). Undocumented Students in Higher Education. In Banks, J. A. (Ed). Encyclopedia of Diversity in Education (pp. 2215-18). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• Perez, W. (2012). Americans by Heart: Undocumented Latino Students and the Promise of Higher Education. New York: Teachers College Press.
• Perez, W., Cortes, R. (2011). Undocumented Latino College Students: Their Socioemotional and Academic Experiences. Dallas, TX: LFB Scholarly Publishing.
• Perez, W., Munoz, S., Alcantar, C., Guarneros, N. (2011). Educators supporting DREAMERS: Becoming an Undocumented Student Ally. In Landsman, J. & Lewis, C. W. (Eds). White Teachers/Diverse Classrooms: A Guide to Building Inclusive Schools, Promoting High Expectations, and Eliminating Racism (2nd Edition). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.
• Perez, W., Cortes, R., Ramos, K., Coronado, H. (2010). Cursed and blessed: Examining the socioemotional and academic experiences of undocumented Latino/a college students. New Directions for Student Services, 131, 35-51.
• Perez, W., Espinoza, R., Ramos, K., Coronado, H, Cortes, R. (2010). Civic Engagement Patterns of Undocumented Mexican Students. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 9 (3), 245-265.
• Perez, W. (2010). Higher Education Access for Undocumented Students: Recommendations for Counseling Professionals. Journal of College Admission, 206(1), 34-37.
• Perez, W. (2010). Extending Our Investments: Higher Education Access for Undocumented Students. Diversity & Democracy, 13(1), 7-9.
• Perez, W. (2009). We ARE Americans: Undocumented Students Pursuing The American Dream. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.
• Perez, W., Espinoza, R., Ramos, K., Coronado, H, Cortes, R. (2009). Academic Resilience Among Undocumented Latino Students. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 31(2), 149-181.
• Valdés, G., Fishman J.A., Chavez, R.M, Perez, W. (2008). Maintaining Spanish in the United States: Steps toward the effective practice of heritage language re-acquisition/development. Hispania, 91(1), 4-24.
• Finch, B. K., Lim, N., Perez, W., & Do, P. (2007). Towards a population health model of segmented assimilation: The case of low birth-weight in Los Angeles. Sociological Perspectives, 50(3), 445-468.
• Valdés, G., Fishman J.A., Chavez, R.M, & Perez, W. (2006). Developing Minority Language Resources: The Case of Spanish in California. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
• Padilla, A. M., & Perez, W. (2003). Acculturation, social identity and social cognition: A new perspective. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 25 (1), 1-21.
• Perez, W., & Padilla, A. M.(2000). Cultural orientation across three generations of Hispanic adolescents. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 22 (3), 390-398.
• Buriel, R., Perez, W., DeMent, L., Chavez, D., & Moran, V. (1998). The relationship of language brokering to academic performance, biculturalism and self-efficacy among Latino adolescents. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 20 (3), 283-297.