Jeffrey Gerson

Jeffrey Gerson serves as Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Lowell within the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. His expertise spans American Politics, Politics and Sports, and State and Local Politics with significant community engagement in Lowell's immigrant populations.

His academic foundation includes:

• Ph.D. in Political Science (1990), Graduate School and University Center, City University of New York
• B.A. in Political Science (1978), State University of New York, The College at Brockport

Gerson's research uniquely bridges sports politics and urban ethnic studies. His work on sports examines partisan polarization in athletic health issues, declining women coaches in NCAA sports, and political economy of college athletics through oral histories and policy analysis. Concurrently, he conducts deep ethnographic work on Southeast Asian and Latino communities in Lowell, focusing on political incorporation, refugee resettlement, and cultural preservation. This dual focus manifests in community-based methodologies emphasizing oral histories and participatory action research.

His publication trajectory reveals consistent exploration of sports politics (2005-2019) alongside longitudinal studies of Lowell's immigrant communities (1994-2008). Key thematic threads include identity politics in sports governance, refugee political succession, and sustainable development frameworks linking universities to regional economies. Methodologically, he favors qualitative case studies with strong community engagement elements.

His honors include:

• Three-time recipient of UMass Lowell Political Science Department Outstanding Teaching Award (1993, 2003, 2012)
• Scholar in Residence Fellowship at St. Mary's University (2012)
• National Student-Athlete Day Faculty Recognition (2006)

Gerson has secured substantial community-engaged funding:

• National Park Service ethnographic study of Lowell (2007)
• Lowell National Historical Park oral histories project (2003)
• Mogan Cultural Center grants for Southeast Asian community research (2007-2008)
• Multiple Council on Diversity and Pluralism grants for voter registration and cultural documentation

He pioneered innovative courses including 'Politics and Sports' and 'American Politics and Music,' often co-teaching with practitioners.

His work centers on the Mogan Cultural Center and Lowell National Historical Park partnerships, where he co-founded the Video Archive for Cambodian Holocaust Survivors' Testimonies. This community-embedded approach positions academia as active participant in documenting immigrant experiences and preserving cultural heritage through university-community collaborations.