Jessica Gold, PhD
Bio
Hi, I'm Jess! I'm a computational social scientist with 10+ years of experience leveraging mixed methods to study people, organizations, and information systems. My work combines advanced statistical modeling, computational text analysis, social network analysis, and qualitative research to explore topics such as equity and organizational change in higher education, as well as the growing role of AI in shaping social and institutional dynamics. I am driven by a commitment to rigorous, actionable research that informs policy and practice.
Recent Research
Gender and Race Differences in Engaged Scholars among Faculty Applicants
Universities say they value scholarship that serves the public good—but who actually takes the risk of doing it?​
Using computational text analysis of over 130,000 assistant professor applications from nine public research universities, I examine how applicants present themselves as engaged scholars—scholars whose work connects with communities and public needs.
A key finding: women of color—specifically Black, Latina, and Native American women—are the most likely to foreground engaged scholarship in their application materials across all STEM and Social Science fields.
This matters because engaged scholarship is widely promoted by universities, yet it is still unevenly valued in hiring and promotion systems. If the scholars most likely to pursue public-serving research face the greatest evaluation risks, we risk reproducing inequalities in whose knowledge is recognized and rewarded in higher education.
More broadly, the project shows how computational methods can help us see patterns in academic evaluation and professional identity at scale, opening new ways to study inequality in work and higher education.
DEI as Infrastructure - And Why We'll Miss It When It's Gone
This Op-Ed is part of a special collection of essays in Contexts: Sociology for the Public, exploring the consequences of the January 2025 Executive Order effectively ending all federal diversity, equity, and accessibility (DEIA) programs. This article, co-authored with Laura K. Nelson and Kathrin Zippel, explores those consequences in higher education through the case of the NSF ADVANCE program.
We argue that DEIA principles are core to universities' central missions, including helping them stay responsive to societal changes over time. Through the ADVANCE program, we show that these programs do more than promote diversity; they transform institutions into more innovative, equitable, and resilient institutions. The challenge is not whether to change, but how to steer change so institutions remain capable of advancing knowledge, educating all students, and contributing to the broader public good.
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Jessica Gold, PhD
International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE)
Scientific Collaboration Officer
Consulting Scientist, Panel on AI and Economic Inclusion
Tucson, AZ