Lisa García Bedolla

Lisa García Bedolla is Berkeley's Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Hitchcock Dean of the Graduate Division, and Chancellor's Professor of Education at the University of California, Berkeley. She holds a PhD in Political Science from Yale University (1999) and a BA in Latin American Studies and Comparative Literature from the University of California, Berkeley (1992), where she graduated with highest distinction in general scholarship and highest departmental honors in Latin American Studies. Her academic career began as Assistant Professor in Political Science and Liberal Studies at California State University, Long Beach (1999–2001), followed by Assistant and Associate Professor positions in Political Science and Chicano/Latino Studies at the University of California, Irvine (2001–2008). Since 2008, she has been at UC Berkeley, advancing from Associate Professor to Professor in the Graduate School of Education (now Berkeley School of Education) and affiliated with the Travers Department of Political Science. Additional leadership roles include Director of the Institute for Governmental Studies (2017–2019) and Chair of the Center for Latino Policy Research (2010–2014).

García Bedolla employs social science methods such as in-depth interviewing, survey research, field experiments, and GIS to analyze causes of educational and political inequalities across lines of ethnorace, gender, class, and geography. Her scholarship emphasizes intersectional and interdisciplinary perspectives on U.S. complexities. Key publications include Fluid Borders: Latino Power, Identity, and Politics in Los Angeles (University of California Press, 2005), which received the APSA Ralph J. Bunche Award and Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Best Book Award (2006); Mobilizing Inclusion: Transforming the Electorate through Get-Out-the-Vote Campaigns (Yale University Press, 2012, with Melissa R. Michelson), awarded the APSA Bunche Award, Race and Ethnicity Best Book, and Latino Caucus Best Book (2012–2013); and Latino Politics (Polity Press, 2009, 2014, 2021). Her books have garnered five national awards. She has earned honors including the UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Award for Advancing Institutional Excellence and Equity (2017), Adaljiza Sosa-Riddell Award for Mentoring (2008, 2013), and Chancellor’s Professor title (2014). García Bedolla has consulted for presidential campaigns, advised ballot initiatives, and collaborated with community organizations on voter mobilization for low-income communities of color.

Professional Email: lgarciab@berkeley.edu