Mike Hoa Nguyen

Mike Hoa Nguyen, PhD (he/him) is associate professor of education in the School of Education and Information Studies. His research and teaching critically examine the benefits and consequences of racialized public policy instruments in expanding and/or constraining educational systems, with a specific focus on how these dynamics shape access, learning, opportunity, and success within and beyond schools for students of color. Dr. Nguyen aims to better articulate how race-conscious federal policy can reach its potential, and fulfill its promise to address pervasive educational inequalities for underserved and underrepresented populations and regions within the United States. He is the principal investigator of The Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI) Data Project, a research and resource initiative with the mission to advance a greater understanding of MSIs and their unique contributions to postsecondary education. An extension of this work explores Asian American & Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) and their role in building capacity to serve Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) students, staff, faculty, and administrators. In addition to his academic work, Dr. Nguyen has extensive professional experience in federal government, having served as a senior staff member in the United States Congress. He is deeply committed to applying his research to inform and advance public policy and institutional practice. During the Biden-Harris Administration, he was appointed to the first-ever Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions Federal Advisory Council at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He was also appointed by the Governor of Colorado to the History, Culture, Social Contributions, and Civil Government in Education Commission. Dr. Nguyen currently serves on the Board of Directors for Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education (APAHE) and Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC). He continues to volunteer and provide research consulting for education and civil rights organizations. Most recently, he co-authored amicus curiae briefs on behalf of social scientists in SFFA v. Harvard, which was discussed during oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court and cited by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in their opinion to uphold affirmative action. He is the proud son of Vietnamese American refugees.