Eric Grodsky

Eric Grodsky is department chair and professor of sociology and educational policy studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is co-director of Education Studies for Healthy Aging Research (EdSHARe) and co-director of the Madison Education Partnership, a research-practice collaboration between the Madison Metropolitan School District and UW–Madison. He is also deputy director of the Interdisciplinary Training Program in Education Sciences and helps direct the research core in social stratification for the Center for Demography and Ecology. Grodsky previously held faculty positions at the University of Minnesota and the University of California, Davis. His research examines how education and social origins shape inequities across the life course, from early childhood through higher education, the labor market, and healthy aging. His work has explored affirmative action, socioeconomic inequalities in college access and completion, and the role of college-readiness information in shaping students' educational pathways. He also studies the stratified contexts in which families and schools contribute to human capital development, including socioemotional, cognitive, and academic skills. Grodsky earned his PhD in sociology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

updated 2025