The last decade has witnessed increasing skepticism about the value of universities. Many strategies exist to respond to this challenge, but one that has not received enough attention is fostering social impact research through community-engaged scholarship, which addresses real problems in the everyday lives of community members. Recent experiences demonstrate that incentives to social impact research are viable and that barriers can be surpassed. By fostering trust and mutuality, social impact research carried out in community partnerships can overcome the perils of polarization which are so prominent today.

Adam Gamoran leads William T. Grant Foundation, a charitable organization that supports research to improve the lives of young people.  Two priorities guide the Foundation’s grantmaking: identifying ways to reduce inequality in youth outcomes, and improving the use of research evidence in decisions about policy and practice that affect young people. Previously, he held the John D. MacArthur Chair in Sociology and Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he spent three decades engaged in research on educational inequality and school reform.

His research contributions have been honored by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, the American Educational Research Association, and the Sociology of Education Section of the American Sociological Association.