This spring, a new member is joining the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) leadership team. Dr. Edén Cortés-López will be leading the Fostering an Inclusive Climate priority area at the university and the corresponding EDI Strategy Council working group as the new director of research and climate. Dr. Cortés-Lopéz will also direct the launch of the research arm of EDI in collaboration with University of Utah Health Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion.
The new director of research & climate position is a joint appointment shared between EDI and the College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy (ELP). This partnership will add value to EDI’s mission by giving it access to the faculty expertise of the college while helping to align the goals of the two units. By partnering with the college, EDI will be able to draw on faculty research and scholar-practitioner expertise—and the College of Education will gain better access to the administrative and policy-related expertise of EDI. Additionally, the formalization of this partnership will help to encourage stronger consistency across the metrics, definitions, and methodologies used in all EDI partnerships.
Dr. Cortés-Lopéz is excited to bring his expertise to this position and to continue to create research that supports equitable outcomes and practices across campus. He views his role as a contributor and collaborator in an already growing EDI community of practitioners. “Research is important to help us unearth issues of equity that often go unnoticed. Research provides us with the data to ask critical questions about systemic and structural inequities. It can form equitable practices and outcomes. It is my goal is to continue to develop the research arm of EDI and support colleges across campus with their EDI initiatives,” he says.
Edén Cortés-López is a higher education researcher, practitioner, and consultant who brings over 10 years of experience in higher education to the position, including his most recent employment with the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE). As a special projects coordinator at USHE, Dr. Cortés-López oversaw the state-wide Transfer site, Senate Bill 196 (Concurrent Enrollment QL Mathematic Competency Initiative), and provided expertise on transfer-related policies and initiates. He is also an author on several research papers focused on transfer students’ experiences, national Reverse Credit Transfer initiatives, and equity assessment. Finally, Dr. Cortés-López work has contributed to the field of higher education in prison as co-author of “The Landscape of Higher Education in Prison, 2018-19,” which assesses some 300 higher education prison programs from across the country and identifies their years of operation, modes of engagement, affiliations, size, curriculum, and other key characteristics.
Dr. Cortés-Lopéz has previously taught in the U’s ELP graduate program and has been commissioned by the Programs of Public Affairs to evaluate the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program’s curriculum, recruitment and admission policies and procedures, student programming, and the experiences of students and faculty in regards to equity. He was also a consultant for Park City Community Foundation and analyzed data to address housing disparities and their impact on low-income families and communities of color in Park City. His research focuses on understanding and improving inequities in student access, success, and completion in higher education with a particular focus on community college transfer students; higher education; and equity, diversity, and inclusion evaluation.
In his free time, Dr. Cortés-López loves to read and collect comic books, go for runs in the rain, and ride his road bike. He is very proud of having completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees at PAC-12 institutions—and he’s excited to again be joining the University of Utah in this important role.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be part of a community of scholars, students, and practitioners at the University of Utah,” he says. “When I first started my graduate work at the U, I knew that I wanted to work here. The work of faculty and practitioners to create an equitable campus for historically marginalized students is admirable and invigorating, and I am excited to join those efforts and honored to join the U’s EDI and UHEDI team as the director of research and climate.”
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Cortés-López to the University of Utah and EDI team.
