Hugh Mehan

Hugh Mehan is Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Education at UCSD, appointments that link his commitments to research and practice. He started the Teacher Education Program (now the Department of Education) at UCSD and directed that Program from 1972 until 1998, when he became the founding director of the Center for Research on Educational Equity, Access, and Teaching Excellence. CREATE coordinates efforts at UCSD to improve the academic preparation of underrepresented students through partnerships with K-12 schools and the Preuss School, UCSD’s on-campus model charter school. During the first half of his 40-year career he studied challenges to educational equity manifested in classroom interaction, educational testing encounters, tracking practices, and the distribution of access to computers in schools. For the past 20 years, he has helped build equitable educational environments (The Preuss School UCSD and Gompers Preparatory Academy in Southeastern San Diego.) He currently advises Groundwork San Diego in Southeastern San Diego, Gompers, and Preuss on evaluation measures and equitable educational policies. He authored 7 books, edited 4 others, and published over 100 articles and book chapters. His most recent book, In the Front Door, discusses his research on the political origins, culture, and organization of The Preuss School and Gompers Preparatory Academy in their efforts to provide an excellent and equitable education to under represented youth. At UCSD, he received 4 teaching awards and 3 research/public service awards, most notably, the Revelle Medal, the “highest honor awarded a faculty member” for “Outstanding Contributions to UCSD” in 2015. In the national context, he was elected to the National Academy of Education in 1997 and selected an NAEd Fellow in 2008. The American Anthropological Association, the American Educational Association, and the American Sociological Association presented him with Lifetime Achievement awards for his contributions to those disciplines. The University of San Diego presented him the Outstanding San Diego Educator Award in 2014.