EdD, University of Southern California

Emily Chung is an Associate Professor of Research at the Pullias Center for Higher Education. Her professional interests are grounded in how we can better serve students to improve higher educational access and outcomes, both on the macro level to address larger institutional policies and structures, and on the micro level to help support the unique needs of every student. Emily’s research has explored a range of issues related to educational opportunity, including studies of community colleges practices that promote student success and research on the use of nonacademic factors that could be used to broaden college admissions.

She brings her experience as the Managing Director for the Pullias Center for Higher Education as well as the now merged Center for Enrollment Research Policy and Practice (CERPP), where she also served as its interim Executive Director. In these roles, she directed programs that translated research into effective policy and practice to increase student educational access and outcomes, working with leaders in K-12 and higher education institutions. Emily also helped launch and oversees the USC College Advising Corps (USC CAC) program, a community outreach program which works to improve college outcomes for high school students. Today, the USC CAC program employs 36 advisers to serve 10,000 students annually across Los Angeles County navigate their postsecondary paths.

Before her roles at USC, Dr. Chung served as a grant officer in education for an international foundation in New York and worked in development for a community development nonprofit in San Francisco. 

She earned her EdD from the University of Southern California at the Rossier School of Education. Emily earned her master’s degree at Yale University in East Asian Studies and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin with a double major in Plan II (honors liberal arts) and Asian Studies.

Expertise
Higher education policy | college access and success | student recruitment | admission and retention