Please join us in congratulating Maritza E. Salazar, USC Rossier PhD candidate, for receiving the 2023-2024 Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship, awarded by the National Academies (NASEM).

The goals of the Ford Foundation fellowships are to increase the diversity of the nation’s college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, to maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.

Maritza’s interests include bridging the K-12 and higher education pipeline and exploring the relationship between education and the criminal legal system. In particular, she is interested in college access and equity for justice-involved youth and for youth attending continuation high schools. She is advised by Pullias Center Assistant Professor Adrian H. Huerta.