Ruth N. López Turley - Department of Sociology - Rice University

Ruth N. López Turley
Associate Professor
Rice University
Updated 09/07/11
Department of Sociology MS-28 http://sociology.rice.edu/turley
6100 Main Street turley@rice.edu
Houston, TX 77005 (713) 348-5713
Education
Ph.D. (Nov 2001), Harvard University, Sociology.
Dissertation: Neighborhood Effects on Children: Mechanisms, Interactions, and
Relative Deprivation
Committee: Christopher Jencks, Christopher Winship, Katherine Newman
M.A. (March 1999), Harvard University, Sociology.
Thesis: The Children of Teenage Mothers
Committee: Christopher Winship, Orlando Patterson, Theda Skocpol
B.A. (June 1996), Stanford University, Spanish and Sociology.
Thesis: Ethnic Collective Action and Ethnic Organizations on College Campuses
Advisor: Susan Olzak
Research and Teaching Interests
Educational Inequality, Child Poverty, Race and Ethnicity, Social Stratification, Clusterrandomized
Trials
Professional Positions
Director, Houston Education Research Consortium, Kinder Institute for Urban Research,
Rice University, Houston, TX, 2011-present
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Rice University, Houston, TX, 2010present
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI,
2010-2011
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI,
2003-2010
Anna Julia Cooper Fellow, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 2002-2003
Research Associate, New England Research Institutes (NERI), Center for Statistical
Analysis and Research, Watertown, MA, 1999-2000

Publications
Turley 2
Gamoran, Adam, Ruth N. López Turley, Alyn Turner, and Rachel Fish. Forthcoming.
“Differences between Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Families in Social Capital and
Child Development: First-Year Findings from an Experimental Study.”
Research in Social Stratification and Mobility.
Gamoran, Adam, Ruth N. López Turley, and Jeremy Fiel. Forthcoming. “The Evidence-
Based School Interventions Movement.” Oxford Handbook on Child Development
and Poverty. Oxford University Press.
Turley, Ruth N. López and Matthew Desmond. 2011. “Contributions to College Costs
by Married, Divorced, and Remarried Parents.” Journal of Family Issues,
32(6):767-790. [cited in the New York Times, Time, The Wall Street Journal,
Inside Higher Ed, Washington Post, Forbes Magazine, Huffington Post, and
nine other media outlets]
Crosnoe, Robert and Ruth N. López Turley. 2011. “K-12 Educational Outcomes of
Immigrant Youth.” The Future of Children, 21(1):129-152.
Turley, Ruth N. López, Matthew Desmond, and Sarah Bruch. 2010. “Unanticipated
Educational Consequences of a Positive Parent-Child Relationship.” Journal of
Marriage and Family, 72:1377-1390.
Turley, Ruth N. López and Geoffrey Wodtke. 2010. “College Residence and Academic
Performance: Who Benefits from Living on Campus?” Urban Education, 45(4):
506-532. [in March 2011, ranked as the 2nd most read article in the journal]
Turley, Ruth N. López. 2009. “College Proximity: Mapping Access to Opportunity.”
Sociology of Education, 82(2):126-146.
Desmond, Matthew and Ruth N. López Turley. 2009. “The Role of Familism in
Explaining the Hispanic-White College Application Gap.” Social Problems,
56(2):311-334.
Deil-Amen, Regina and Ruth N. López Turley. 2007. “A Review of the Transition to
College Literature in Sociology.” Teachers College Record, 109(10):2324-2366.
Turley, Ruth N. López, Martín Santos, and Cecilia Ceja. 2007. “Social Origin and
College Opportunity Expectations across Cohorts.” Social Science Research,
36(3):1200-1218.
Turley, Ruth N. López. 2006. “When Parents Want Children to Stay Home for College.”
Research in Higher Education, 47(7):823-846.

Turley 3
* LaMontagne, Anthony D., J. Michael Oakes, and Ruth N. López Turley. 2004. “Long-
Term Ethylene Oxide Exposure Trends in US Hospitals: Relationship with
OSHA Regulatory and Enforcement Actions.” American Journal of Public
Health, 94(9):1614-1619.
* LaMontagne, Anthony, J. Michael Oakes, and Ruth N. López Turley. 2003. “Long-
Term Ethylene Oxide Exposure Trends in US Hospitals in Relation to OSHA
Regulatory Activity.” Epidemiology, 14(5):S114-S115.
Turley, Ruth N. López. 2003. “When Do Neighborhoods Matter? The Role of Race and
Neighborhood Peers.” Social Science Research, 32(1):61-79.
Turley, Ruth N. López. 2003. “Are Children of Young Mothers Disadvantaged Because
of Their Mother’s Age or Family Background?” Child Development, 74(2):465-
474.
Turley, Ruth N. López. 2002. “Is Relative Deprivation Beneficial? The Effects of
Richer and Poorer Neighbors on Children’s Outcomes.” Journal of Community
Psychology, 30(6):671-686.
Work in Progress
Grants
Alvarado, Steven Elías and Ruth N. López Turley. “Do Friends Matter for College
Application? Race and Ethnic Disparities in Causal Effects.” Under Review.
Turley, Ruth N. López, Adam Gamoran, Alyn Turner, and Rachel Fish. “Causal Effects
of Social Capital on Child Outcomes.”
Fiel, Jeremy, Anna Haskins, and Ruth N. López Turley. “Reducing Student Mobility in
Hispanic Elementary Schools through a Randomized Intervention.”
The Laura and John Arnold Foundation (9/1/11-8/31/13), for establishing the Houston
Education Research Consortium, a partnership between Rice University and the
Houston Independent School District, Principal Investigator ($1.3 million).
National Institutes of Health (NIH), R01 Grant (8/17/11-7/31/15), “Mentoring Functions
in Scientist Development,” Co-Investigator (PIs: John Rodgers, Baylor College of
Medicine, and Michelle Hebl, Rice University) ($1.4 million).
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Administrative Supplement (9/1/10-
8/31/11). “Social Capital and Children’s Development: An Experimental Study,”
Co-Principal Investigator with Adam Gamoran ($255,612).
* These publications resulted from work at the New England Research Institutes.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Diversity
Supplement for supporting minority graduate assistants (5/09-4/13). “Social
Capital and Children’s Development: An Experimental Study,” Co-Principal
Investigator with Adam Gamoran ($205,970).
Turley 4
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), R01 Grant (7/08-
6/13). “Social Capital and Children’s Development: An Experimental Study,”
Co-Principal Investigator with Adam Gamoran ($3.3 million).
The University of Wisconsin Graduate School (7/06-6/07). “College Application
Patterns of Hispanic Youth: The Role of College Proximity and High School
Peers,” Principal Investigator ($26,992).
Texas Higher Education Opportunity Project, Co-sponsored by NSF, Ford, Mellon,
Hewlett and Spencer Foundations, as well as institutional support from the Office
of Population Research at Princeton University (12/05-12/06). “College
Application Patterns of Hispanic Youth: The Role of College Proximity and High
School Peers,” Principal Investigator ($24,000).
National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (1/05-
12/05). “When College Proximity Matters,” Principal Investigator ($50,000).
The University of Wisconsin Graduate School (7/04-6/05). “When College Proximity
Matters,” Principal Investigator ($29,077).
Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (11/03-11/04). “The Wisconsin Child
Support Policy Research Project,” Principal Investigators: Maria Cancian,
LaFollette School of Public Affairs, and Tom Kaplan, Institute for Research on
Poverty ($31,389).
Russell Sage Foundation (7/03-6/04). “Toward Equal Opportunity? Changes in the
Effect of Socioeconomic Background on Educational Attainment,” Principal
Investigator ($27,758).
Awards and Recognition
Honored Instructors Award, University Housing, University of Wisconsin, in recognition
of invaluable contribution to student learning, 2010.
Honored Instructors Award, University Housing, University of Wisconsin, in recognition
of invaluable contribution to student learning, 2009.
Dr. Brenda Pfaehler Award of Excellence, University of Wisconsin, selected by TRIO
students (low-income, first generation college students) for having a positive
impact on their lives, 2008.

Turley 5
Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, Faculty Honorary Member, selected by student
members of the Board, 2008.
Award for Excellence in Teaching, Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin,
2006, selected by students and faculty, based on teaching evaluations.
Teaching Academy Fellow, University of Wisconsin, selected in 2005, recognizing
excellence in teaching.
Exceptional Professor Award, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 2004, based on a
survey of 700 freshmen choosing professors who “passionately engage their
students in the course material and genuinely work for their students’ success.”
Graduate Student Paper Award, American Sociological Association, Section on the
Family, Honorable Mention (2001). “When Do Neighborhoods Matter? The
Interaction of Neighborhood Income, Family Income, and Race in Producing
Children’s Outcomes.”
Doctoral Fellow, Multidisciplinary Program in Inequality and Social Policy, Kennedy
School of Government, Harvard University (1998-2001).
Additional Training
U.S. Dept. of Education, IES Research Training Institute: Cluster Randomized Trials,
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, June 17-29, 2007 (30 fellows selected from
170 applicants).
International Service
Israel Science Foundation, Proposal Reviewer, Higher Education, 2010.
National Service
National Science Foundation, Proposal Evaluator, Sociology, 2011.
National Research Council, Reviewer, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and
Education, 2010.
Coleman Award Selection Committee, American Sociological Association, Sociology of
Education Section, 2009-2010.
Editorial Board, Sociology of Education, 2010-2012.
National Science Foundation, Proposal Evaluator, Sociology, 2008.
Sociology of Education Section, Council Member (elected), American Sociological
Association, 2007-2010.

Local Service
Turley 6
Cox-Johnson-Frazier Award Selection Committee (formerly DuBois-Johnson-Frazier),
American Sociological Association, 2005-2007.
Social Science Research Council, Sociology Field Reviewer for “Transitions to College
Project,” 2003-2004.
Manuscript Referee, American Sociological Review, Child Development, Journal of
Family Issues, Housing Studies, Population Studies, Social Forces, Social
Problems, Social Psychology of Education, Social Science and Medicine, Social
Science Research, Sociological Methods and Research, Sociology of Education
Keynote Speaker, YES Prep Public Schools All Staff Day, August 12, 2011.
Advisory Group, Families Empowered, 2011-present.
Academic Advisory Board, Children at Risk Institute, a policy and research collaborative
promoting solutions to the challenges faced by children, including oversight of
the Growing Up in Houston publication and the Journal of Applied Research on
Children, 2011.
Keynote Speaker, “The Patterns of Social and Education Inequality: Aiming to Close
Socioeconomic Gaps in Achievement and Attainment,” The Future of Fort Bend’s
Children Conference, sponsored by The George Foundation and Fort Bend’s
Chamber of Commerce, Richmond, TX, Feb 28, 2011.
Center for Houston’s Future, K-12 Data Group for Center’s Indicator Program, “2011
Counting on Quality of Place: Human Capital/Education” benchmark report.
University Service
Faculty Senate, Presidential Appointee, Rice University, 2011-2014.
Committee on the Status of the Faculty, Office of the Provost for Academic Affairs, Rice
University, 2011-present.
Faculty Address to all Incoming Students, Orientation Week, Rice University, August 16,
2010.
Social Science Dean’s Advisory Board, Rice University, 2010-2013.
McNair Scholars Program Faculty Mentor, University of Wisconsin, 2009-2011.
Pathways Scholars Program Mentor, University of Wisconsin, 2009.
Chancellor’s Scholarship Program Mentor, University of Wisconsin, 2008-2012.

Advisory Team, Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education
(WISCAPE) 2008 Spring Symposium on First Generation College Students.
Turley 7
Institute for Research on Poverty, Poverty Studies Cluster Hire Committee, 2007-2008.
Faculty Speaker, University of Wisconsin College Access Program (CAP), Academic
Skills Development Workshop for minority or economically disadvantaged high
school students, July 13, 2007.
Faculty Speaker, 2007 Wisconsin Alumni Association’s Founder’s Day Dinner, San
Antonio Chapter, San Antonio, TX, March 30, 2007.
Speaker, 2006 UW Teaching and Learning Symposium, “Increasing Student Dialogue
and Discussion in Large-enrollment Courses,” May 18, 2006.
Panelist for the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education
(WISCAPE) Forum, “Affordability and Access in American Higher Education in
the 21 st Century,” February 1, 2006.
Faculty Welcome Address, Multicultural Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration
(M-SOAR) University of Wisconsin, June 20, 2005.
Guest Speaker, Forefront Leadership Program for underrepresented and first-generation
college students from Curie Metropolitan High School, Chicago, IL, 2004.
Welcome Address, Hispanic Youth Career Fair for middle and high school students,
sponsored by Academic Services, UW Office of Admissions, 2004.
Panel on Latino Education, University of Wisconsin, Office of Student Academic Affairs,
College of Letters and Science, 2004.
Institute for Research on Poverty, Executive and Proposal Planning Committee, 2004-
2005.
Faculty Senate, University of Wisconsin, 2004-2006.
Speaker on Course Development, Summer Institute on Teaching and Learning, UW
Teaching Academy, June 7-10, 2004.
Department Service
Graduate Committee, Department of Sociology, Rice University, 2011-present.
Teaching and Service Committee, Department of Sociology, Rice University, 2011present.
Postdoctoral Selection Committee, Department of Sociology, Rice University, 2010-
2011.

Turley 8
Graduate Admissions Committee, Department of Sociology, Rice University, 2010-2011.
Minority Recruitment and Retention Committee, Department of Sociology, University of
Wisconsin, 2005-2010.
Consulting Service
External Evaluator for “Engaging Sophomores: Graduation Roadmap,” Individual
Development Grant, U.S. Dept. of Education, Developing Hispanic-Serving
Institutions Program, Texas A&M International University, Laredo, TX ($3.2
million), 2010-2015.
External Evaluator for “Hispanic-Serving Institutions aiming to recruit, support, and
graduate poor Hispanic students,” U.S. Dept. of Education, Title V Cooperative
Development Grant, Laredo Community College and Texas A&M International
University, Laredo, TX ($713,000), 2008-2013.
Student Committees
Advisees: Jill Bowdon, Alicia Dean, Dominique Dust, Jeremy Fiel, Rachel Fish,
Courtney Luedke, William Oliver, David Rangel, Vansa Shewakramani, Megan
Shoji
Dissertations: James Benson, Matthew Desmond, Caroline Faulkner, Sean Kelly,
Carolina Milesi, Julie Minikel-Lacocque, Martín Santos, Luisa Schwartzman
Master’s Theses: Brian An, Jill Bowdon, Cecilia Ceja, Alicia Dean, Mami Fujii, Jeffrey
Grigg, Victoria Healey-Etten, Michelle Robinson, Lauren Schudde, Megan Shoji
Undergraduate Theses: Kelsey Enriquez, Matthew Minami, Rebba Moore, Sergio
Romero, Geoffrey Wodtke
Invited Presentations
“Reducing Student Mobility in Hispanic Elementary Schools through a Randomized
Intervention,” Center for Research on Educational Opportunity, Notre Dame
University, April 18, 2011.
Author Meets Critic Session: Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College
Campuses, by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa, University of Chicago Press,
Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting, Jacksonville, FL, April 6-9, 2011.
“The Role of Familism in Explaining the Hispanic-White College Application Gap,”
Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia, March 18, 2009.

“Latinos Staying Home for College,” Texas Higher Education Opportunity Project
Research Seminar, Princeton University, Office of Population Research,
Princeton, NJ, August 17-19, 2006.
Turley 9
“Neighborhood Effects on Adolescent Development,” American Sociological
Association Annual Meeting, Research Workshop on the Panel Study of Income
Dynamics, Montreal, Canada, August 12, 2006.
“Proximidad Residencial y Elección de Universidad en EEUU,” Departamento de
Sociología VI, Facultad de Educación, Universidad Complutense de Madrid,
España, June 28, 2006.
“College Proximity: Mapping Access to Opportunity,” American Educational Research
Association, San Francisco, CA, April 10, 2006.
“College Proximity: Mapping Access to Opportunity,” National Academy of Education
Annual Meeting, Teachers College, Columbia University, October 21, 2005.
“When Parents Want Children to Stay Home for College,” Northwestern University,
Department of Sociology, Evanston, IL, February 10, 2005
“A Review of the Transitions to College Literature in Sociology,” Meeting of the
Transitions to College Committee, Social Science Research Council, New York,
NY, July 1-2, 2004
Selected Presentations
“Parent Social Networks, the Parent-Child Bond, and Children’s Social Adjustment,”
Symposium devoted to the Social Capital Project, Society for Research in Child
Development Biennial Meeting, Montreal, Canada, April 1, 2011. Five papers
presented at this symposium: (1) “Building Social Capital through a Multi-
Family Program: Theory and Evidence,” (2) “FAST Effects on Child Adjustment
and the Parent-Child Bond,” (3) “The Moderating Effects of Social Capital on
Gender Differences in Child Outcomes,” (4) “Social Capital, Ethnicity, and Child
Outcomes,” and (5) “Social Capital and Mobility.”
“Effects of a Multi-Family Intervention on Social Capital and Child Outcomes,” Society
for Research on Educational Effectiveness, Washington DC, March 3, 2011.
“Social Capital and Child Outcomes: Testing Causal Effects through a Cluster-
Randomized Trial,” International Sociological Association World Congress,
Research Committee 28, Session on “Application of Experiments in Social
Stratification and Mobility Research,” Gothenburg, Sweden, July 14, 2010.
“Developing Family-School Social Capital in Latino Communities: First-Year Results
from a Mixed-Methods Study,” Session devoted to the Social Capital Project,
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, May
1, 2010. Four papers presented at this session: (1) “Measuring Social Capital,”

Affiliations
Turley 10
(2) “Emergence of Social Capital,” (3) “Social Capital and Acculturation,” and
(4) “Impact of Social Capital.”
“Parent Involvement and Child Development: First-Year Results from a School-
Randomized Trial in Latino Communities,” Society for Research on Educational
Effectiveness, Washington DC, March 4, 2010.
“Staying Home for College: An Explanation for the Hispanic-White Education Gap,”
American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Sociology of Education
Session, New York City, August 13, 2007.
“College Proximity: Mapping Access to Opportunity,” American Sociological
Association Annual Meeting, Sociology of Higher Education Session, Montreal,
Canada, August 14, 2006.
“When Parents Want Children to Stay Home for College,” International Sociological
Association, Research Committee on Social Stratification and Mobility, Oslo,
Norway, May 6, 2005.
“Toward Equal Opportunity? Changes in the Effect of Socioeconomic Background on
Educational Attainment,” International Sociological Association, Research
Committee on Social Stratification and Mobility, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August
7-9, 2004.
“Wasted Talent: Why Some High-Achieving Students Don’t Apply to College,”
American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Entering and Exiting Higher
Education Session, Atlanta, Georgia, August 16-19, 2003.
“Is Relative Deprivation Beneficial? The Effects of Richer and Poorer Neighbors on
Children’s Outcomes,” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting,
Section on Sociology of Children, Anaheim, California, August 18-21, 2001.
“When Does Relative Deprivation Matter? Why Living in a Rich Neighborhood Is
Associated with Higher Test Performance but Lower Self-Esteem,” International
Sociological Association Working Group on Social Indicators (Rich and Poor:
Disparities, Perceptions, and Consequences), Berlin, Germany, October 13-14,
2000.
Affiliate, Los Angeles Education Research Institute, 2011-present
Affiliate, LaFollette School of Public Affairs, 2007-2011
Affiliate, Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), 2007-2011
Affiliate, Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education
(WISCAPE), 2007-2009

Personal
Affiliate, Interdisciplinary Training Program in Education Sciences (ITP), 2005-2011
Affiliate, Center for Demography and Ecology (CDE), 2003-2011
Affiliate, Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP), 2002-2011
Turley 11
Born in Laredo, Texas (1974); married to Steven Turley (1994); two children, Alejandro
(2006) and Gabriel (2008).