Walter R. Allen

Walter R. Allen is an American sociologist who is a Distinguished Professor and the Allan Murray Carter Chair in Higher Education at University of California, Los Angeles. His research considers social inequality, diversity in higher education and family patterns. He leads the longitudinal study CHOICES that studies the college attendance of African Americans and Latinos. He is a member of the National Academy of Education.

Early life and education Allen grew up in Kansas City, Missouri during racial segregation. He was in a military family without a father, and his mother worked in a hospital to support eight children. After earning his doctorate, he spent a year at Howard University as a visiting professor. In 1978, he joined the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was one of the first Black faculty members. He established the CHOICES project, a long-term investigation into how social inequality impacts life choices and chances. Allen directs the Summer Training for Excellence in Educational Research program with Spelman College, Howard University and Morehouse College. The program provides students at historically black colleges and universities an opportunity to perform summer research projects at UCLA. 2002 Association for the Study of Higher Education Special Merit Award 2008 American Educational Research Association Presidential Citation 2016 American Educational Research Association Distinguished Career Contribution Award 2018 Elected to the National Academy of Education 2020 Dr. John Hope Franklin Award 2022 Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Personal life Allen is married to Cathy R. Daniels, with whom he has four children and seven grandchildren.

Selected publications