Richard Arum

Professor of Sociology and Education; Principal Investigator, UCI-MUST Lab

Richard Arum is Professor of Sociology and Education at the University of California, Irvine, where he directs the UCI-MUST (Measurement of Undergraduate Success Trajectories) Lab. His research draws on social stratification and the sociology of organizations to examine how schools and labor markets shape life course outcomes, with particular attention to higher education access, college learning, and post-college transitions. He is the co-author of Academically Adrift (University of Chicago, 2011) and Aspiring Adults Adrift ((University of Chicago Press, 2014), two widely read studies of college learning and post-college outcomes, and coeditor of: The Liberal Arts Advantage: Measuring the Deeper Value of a College Education (University of Chicago Press, forthcoming 2026); Improving Quality in American Higher Education: Learning Outcomes and Assessments for the 21st Century (Jossey-Bass, 2016); and Stratification in Higher Education: A Comparative Study (Stanford University Press, 2007). Previously, Arum served as Dean of UCI’s School of Education. Senior Fellow at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Director of Education Research at the Social Science Research Council.

Faith Couts

PhD Candidate, School of Education; Graduate Student Researcher, UCI-MUST Lab

Faith Ann Couts is a Ph.D. candidate in Education at the University of California, Irvine, where she is a Graduate Student Researcher at the UCI-MUST Lab and co-PI on the Spark Tools Competition grant, leading research design, evaluation, and stakeholder engagement. Her research examines inequality in higher education and school-to-work transitions, with a focus on how experiential learning and career preparation shape divergent life course outcomes for students from different social backgrounds. She uses mixed methods, combining qualitative approaches with computational text analysis, to study how students construct and present professional identities across institutional contexts. She has presented her work at the American Sociological Association, the Sociology of Education Association, the Research Committee on Social Stratification and Mobility (RC28), and Stanford University.

June Ahn

Professor of Learning Sciences; Senior Associate Dean

Dr. June Ahn is a Professor and Senior Associate Dean at the UCI School of Education, where he directs the Design & Partnership Lab (daplab). He was also the founder of UCI’s Organizing Collaboration for Educational Advancement Network (OCEAN), which develops research-practice partnerships (RPPs) between UCI scholars and community organizations. Dr. Ahn combines expertise in participatory design methods, human-computer interaction, learning sciences, and community partnerships. In the daplab, his team designs innovative technologies and systems that promote change efforts in education. He conducts research on what is possible with new media and learning technologies ranging from AI in education, social media tools, games for learning, visual analytics and measurement systems. All of these projects involve RPPs with community partners, with solutions that are co-designed together. This work has been funded by nearly $30 million in grant funding from the National Science Foundation, Institute of Education Sciences, Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Gates Foundation, Spencer Foundation, William T. Grant Foundation, Heising Simons Foundation, Dimon Family Foundation, and others.

Jeremy Thacker

Assistant Director for Educational & Student Success Technologies in the Office of Information Technology

Jeremy Thacker is the Assistant Director for Educational & Student Success Technologies in the Office of Information Technology at University of California, Irvine. He oversees learning and student success related IT solutions, including both homebuilt and 3rd party applications ranging from the campus LMS to unit-specific tools. An Orange County native, he graduated from UC Irvine with a BS in Information & Computer Science in 2006 but didn’t stay away long before returning in 2012 as a software engineer for the campus’ homebuilt LMS. Jeremy is involved in university staff advocacy efforts and is an avid volunteer. Outside of UCI, he can usually be found playing video games, exercising, or dining out with friends.

Ray Vadnais

Senior User Experience Architect

Ray Vadnais is a seasoned user experience architect at the University of California, Irvine, with nearly 20 years of experience in educational technology. He has designed intuitive user experiences for various campus enterprise software systems, leveraging technology to drive student success initiatives. Ray’s expertise lies in creating seamless digital experiences that empower students, faculty, and staff to achieve their goals more efficiently within campus technology ecosystems. As the product manager for UCI Compass Teaching & Learning Analytics, he collaborates with talented teams of developers, data scientists, and professionals to enhance the user experience and support key student success initiatives through innovative design solutions.