Tolani Britton Selected for William T. Grant Foundation Scholars Program

Support includes $425,000 over five years, career development

Associate Professor Tolani Britton has been selected one of seven William T. Grant Scholars, a prestigious program that supports early career researchers who have a track record of conducting high-quality research and an interest in pursuing a significant shift in their trajectories as researchers.

Britton’s research in the Scholars Program seeks to deepen the understanding of the impact community colleges have in the educational attainment of Black and Latinx youth with conviction histories. It expands on her main body of work that explores the impact of policies on students’ transition from secondary school to higher education, as well as access and retention in higher education.

The project will identify community colleges in California that have high persistence, completion, and transfer rates for youth with conviction histories, and also investigate the role of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in providing services to these students.

The AI component is new to Britton’s work, and includes mentorship from Berkeley School of Education (BSE) colleague Associate Professor Zachary A. Pardos, and Moritz Hardt, director at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity to expand the body of knowledge around the structures that increase access and attainment in higher education, especially for students with conviction histories,” Britton said. “I’m thankful to the William T. Grant Foundation for their support and acknowledgment of this critical work.”

California’s community colleges have some of the most robust policy and programmatic supports for students with conviction histories. Understanding how California’s policies have increased college access and success to the population of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated young persons remains an unanswered question, Britton said.

“This award is a powerful affirmation of the depth, rigor, and urgency of Tolani Britton’s research. I am thrilled for her, for UC Berkeley, and for the broader education community, as her work will shed a much needed light on this enduring issue and generate insights with the potential to meaningfully shape policy and practice,” said BSE Dean Michelle D. Young.

With the rapid increase of AI being used in many facets of education, Pardos, who studies adaptive learning and AI, is looking forward to working with Britton.

“I'm excited to support a colleague, particularly one doing high quality work in an area adjacent to my own where interdisciplinary bridges can be developed,” Pardos said.