Stella M. Flores

Associate Professor of Public Policy and Higher Education

Associate Professor of Sociology (secondary appointment)

Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University

Stella Flores’ work employs large-scale databases and quantitative methods to investigate the impact of state and federal policies on college access and completion for low-income and underrepresented populations. She has written on the role of alternative admissions plans and financial aid programs in college admissions, demographic changes in higher education, the role of the Hispanic Serving Institution in U.S. higher education policy, and Latino students and community colleges. Her work has been cited in the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court Gratz v. Bollinger decision (dissenting opinion) and in various amicus briefs in the Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger Supreme Court cases on affirmative action in higher education admissions. Her publications also include two edited volumes, Legacies of Brown: Multiracial Equity in American Education published by the Harvard Educational Review (with Dorinda J. Carter and Richard J. Reddick) and Latino Educational Opportunity published by Jossey-Bass as part of the New Directions for Community College series (with Catherine L. Horn and Gary Orfield).

Stella Flores holds an Ed.D. in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy with a concentration in Higher Education from Harvard University, an Ed.M. from Harvard University, an M.P.Aff. from The University of Texas at Austin, and a B.A. from Rice University. Prior to joining Vanderbilt, she served as a program evaluator for the U.S. General Accountability Office and as a program specialist for the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Professor Flores has also served as a policy intern for the Texas State Legislature and various city governments in Texas.