Dr. Adrian H. Huerta, Associate Professor at the Pullias Center for Higher Education and the USC Rossier School of Education, has been selected as a 2025 Ascend Fellow from the prestigious Aspen Institute.

The Ascend Fellowship at the Aspen Institute invests in a diverse cadre of leaders throughout the country who are well-connected, well-prepared, and powerfully positioned to build goodwill, change systems, and drive the policy agenda needed for increased prosperity and well-being of all children and families.

“I'm excited for the opportunity to build relationships with thought leaders across the country,” noted Dr. Huerta. “I look forward to developing new methods to integrate public health perspectives into the needs of student parents and their dependents in colleges and universities nationwide.”

Dr. Huerta, who also holds a courtesy appointment at the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the USC Keck School of Medicine, focuses his research on boys and men of color, college access and success, and (in)active gang-involved populations. His research has been funded by the U.S. Department of Education, ECMC Foundation, and W.T. Grant Foundation and totals more than $2.9 million. Dr. Huerta’s scholarship appears in Community College Review, Journal of College Student Development, Innovative Higher Education, The Review of Higher Education, The Urban Review, Urban Education, and other practitioner and scholarly journals.

He was named a 2022-2024 National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, was awarded the ASHE Early Career Award in 2022, and is a past co-winner for the American Sociological Association (ASA) Anna Julia Cooper Early Career Award, among many other honors and awards.

Dr. Mike Muñoz, Superintendent-President of Long Beach City College (CA), who himself was named an Aspen Institute Rising Presidents Fellow, nominated Dr. Huerta for the Ascend Fellowship. “I am incredibly proud to see Dr. Huerta recognized as an Ascend Fellow. At Long Beach City College, we had the privilege of partnering with him to launch the Phoenix Scholars program, which is creating real pathways for students who have been impacted by gangs to reimagine their futures through education,” Dr. Muñoz stated. “Dr. Huerta’s research and advocacy are deeply personal and transformative, and this honor from the Aspen Institute affirms the national importance of his work. His commitment to uplifting young people and families continues to inspire me, our students, and our community.”

Co-director of the Pullias Center and professor at the Rossier School of Education Adrianna Kezar said, “I am so pleased, as is everyone at the Pullias Center, that Adrian is being recognized for the way he is changing the lives of youth and adults from historically-marginalized backgrounds, and being given the opportunity to share and spread his thoughtful research in a larger national platform.”

The 2025 Ascend Fellows are focused on helping communities heal from general challenges and advocating for opportunity, safety and dignity for all. Fellows are providing practical pathways to family prosperity and creating new approaches to supporting financial stability, housing access, and civic engagement. Many, such as Dr. Huerta, are creating ways for parents and children to thrive by expanding educational opportunity, including at community colleges and Tribal and historically Black colleges and universities.

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, DC and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners.

One of the world’s leading research centers on higher education, the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the USC Rossier School of Education advances innovative, scalable solutions to improve college access and outcomes for underserved students and to enhance the performance of postsecondary institutions.