Ross Benbow

Researcher

Ross J. Benbow is a Researcher with the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. With a background in political science, international education, and comparative analysis, Dr. Benbow earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Educational Policy Studies. He specializes in mixed methods and social network approaches to research, and as a project leader, qualitative analyst, consultant, teacher, and writer has shared his work in books—including Beyond the Skills Gap (2016), winner of the AAC&U Frederic W. Ness Book Award—as well as academic journals such as the Harvard Educational Review, the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, the Journal of College Student Development, and the Journal of the Learning Sciences. Dr. Benbow's current research focuses on relationships among teaching and learning, student support services, and sociocultural transitions in colleges and universities, with a particular interest in the career pathways of marginalized undergraduates. He is the Principal Investigator of the Veteran Education to Workforce Affinity and Success Study (VETWAYS), a National Science Foundation-funded project centered on the support networks and professional trajectories of student military service members and veterans. Ross is also a senior investigator with the Networks and Cultural Assets Project (NACA), a research and technical assistance program based in the Division of Continuing Studies using asset-based perspectives to help college educators better support marginalized students.

Contact Information

rjbenbow@wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 890-3145
Office: 551J Ed Sciences

Current Projects

Exploring STEM Career Pathway Persistence Among Student Service Members and Veterans: A Mixed Methods Longitudinal Study of Social Supoort Networks
Exploring Student Service Member/Veteran STEM Career Persistence Longitudinally and in Military-Centric Contexts

Completed Projects

Talking about Leaving, Revisited: Exploring Current Patterns of Undergraduate Persistence in the Sciences
Collaborative Research: Exploring Factors That Shape Education and Workplace Training on Essential 21st Century Competencies: A Translational Study in Four High-Stem Job Regions