By Voice staff

Saint Mary’s College in Moraga is opening a research center to study the cultural factors that contribute to the academic success of college students who are the first in their family to attend an institution of higher learning. The researchers will also study the challenges facing first generation scholars that lead them to drop out.

“The need for more research into this area is imperative,” said Phyllis Martinelli, professor of sociology and co-director of the new center, in a press release announcing the center’s launch. She said the low college graduation rates “can be influenced by the educational experiences of their parents or their lack of experience.”

The Center for First Generation to College Studies at Saint Mary’s will serve as a research clearinghouse and expand a current Internet database of testimonials from successful first generation students.

“The center will collaborate with other departments at Saint Mary’s to provide support and serve as a resource for first general students who may experience a sense of isolation while at college,” said Dana Herrera, assistant professor of anthropology and co-director of the center. It will also examine unexplored cultural factors that contribute to the success of first generation college students, she said.

Herrera and Martinelli plan to share their research findings through its website, podcasts, videos, academic conferences, and print publications.

According to a recent report by the Public Policy Institute of California, the state’s workforce is likely to be short about one million college graduates by the year 2025, in part because of low rates of college attendance and graduation among some ethnic groups, especially Latinos.

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