In the News: Maria Zhu

The assistant professor of economics received the honor for her work teaching undergraduate students.

New research from CPR Associates on the “model minority” stereotype finds that teachers rate Asian students’ academic skills more favorably than White students. In addition, teachers respond to the presence of any Asian student in the classroom by widening Black-White and Hispanic-White assessment gaps.

"'Model minorities'" in the classroom? Positive evaluation bias towards Asian students and its consequences," co-authored by Ying Shi, assistant professor of public administration and international affairs, and Maria Zhu, assistant professor of economics, was published in the Journal of Public Economics.

The work of Sean Drake, assistant professor of sociology, Ying Shi, assistant professor of public administration and international affairs, and Maria Zhu, assistant professor of economics, was referenced in the article, "Asian American Students Face Bias, but It’s Not What You Might Think."

Maria Zhu, assistant professor of economics, says that the University of California’s decision could be "a sign that the tides are shifting" on universities’ economic views of investing in fossil fuels. “If it has a positive impact, I do believe more schools will eventually divest for financial reasons, given that most of them tend to think social implications of divesting are positive or neutral at worst."