Maithreyi Gopalan

Maithreyi Gopalan is an Associate Professor at the University of Oregon's College of Education, affiliated with the Education Policy and Leadership and Quantitative Research Methods in Education departments. She previously held roles at Penn State University and served as an inaugural Data Science Impact Fellow at the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (2023-24). Her research focuses on policy-relevant analyses of racial and socioeconomic disparities in education, leveraging experimental/quasi-experimental methods and 'big data' approaches.

• PhD in Public Affairs from Indiana University (2018)
• MA in Economics from Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (2004)
• BA in Economics from the University of Madras (2002)

Her work examines school discipline disparities, student belonging, civic education efficacy, and health-education policy intersections. She emphasizes causal inference and interdisciplinary approaches to address systemic inequalities. Recent studies include analyses of pandemic impacts on student mental health, the ineffectiveness of mandated civics tests on youth voter turnout, and the relationship between healthcare policies and academic outcomes.

Key awards include the Inaugural Data Science Impact Fellowship (2023-24) and a Mellon Emerging Faculty Leadership Finalist designation (2022). Her research has been published in Socius, PLOS One, Science, and other leading journals.

Gopalan's advising and grants focus on policy evaluation and equity initiatives. Her work bridges academia and practice through collaborations with federal agencies and nonprofits. She has contributed to national studies on learning mindsets and led efforts to analyze K-12 civil rights complaints nationwide.