Scholar of minority-serving institutions lauded for work that has impacted federal policy, amicus briefs, and curriculum standards.
UCLA Associate Professor of Education Mike Hoa Nguyen has been honored with the inaugural Engaged Scholar Community Impact Award by the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). He will receive the award on Nov. 4 during the organization’s 51st Annual Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“I am deeply grateful to my colleagues for this recognition and to the many people and organizations I have had the privilege of working alongside,” says Nguyen. “Their tireless efforts inspire me, particularly at a time when educational equity and diversity are under attack. This honor strengthens my commitment to conduct research in partnership with communities and policymakers to advance social change.”
Professor Nguyen is the principal investigator of The Minority-Serving Institutions Data Project, delineating the 40-year history of MSIs and their impact on educational and career outcomes for students from the most underserved communities, informing federal policy, amicus briefs, and curriculum standards. His public scholarship advances educational equity through direct policy engagement, legal advocacy, and community coalition building.
Nguyen has testified before legislative bodies, drafted policy language, and served on national, state, and municipal advisory boards, bridging research and civic action to expand funding, shape public policy, and protect opportunities for underrepresented student populations.
Professor Nguyen’s expertise as a researcher is shaped by his nearly seven years as a staff member in the Office of U.S. Congressman Michael M. Honda before pursuing his PhD at UCLA. Nguyen achieved his doctorate (’19, PhD, Higher Education and Organizational Change) at what was then the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and returned to join the faculty at his alma mater in 2025.
UCLA HEOC alumni Katherine Cho, associate professor in the School of Education at Loyola University Chicago; Gina Garcia, professor, UC Berkeley School of Education; Kathleen Lehman, executive director of the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition at the University of South Carolina; and Annie Wofford, assistant professor in the Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences at Florida State University, will also be honored in November at the ASHE Annual Conference.
Photo by Tien Nguyen