Van C. Tran

Van C. Tran is Professor of Sociology and International Migration Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center, with joint appointments in Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies. His research examines immigrant integration, urban inequality, racial attitudes, and neighborhood diversification, using New York City as a social laboratory.

He co-chairs the CUNY-wide BRES Faculty Steering Committee developing a pioneering Ph.D. Program in Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies. As faculty co-director of the BRES Collaboration Hub (Mellon-funded), he advances multidisciplinary ethnic studies across CUNY. He also serves as faculty advisor for China at CUNY (Luce Foundation initiative).

His extensive publications analyze:

• Asian American demographic trends and socioeconomic diversity
• Neighborhood integration patterns in metropolitan areas
• Public housing-to-prison pipeline dynamics
• Refugee integration pathways
• Intergroup attitudes and policy perceptions

Methodologically, his work employs innovative approaches including experimental designs to study attitude formation and longitudinal analyses of integration trajectories.

Recent books include Prophetic City: Houston on the Cusp of a Changing America (2023) examining how demographic transformation reshapes urban identity and governance.