Dr. Ross Aikins

Biography

Ross Aikins joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE) in Fall 2013. He specializes in collegiate substance abuse and student health research. Aikins has teaching and administrative experience in K-12 and postsecondary settings across various institutions including the University of Southern California, Carnegie Mellon University, and Occidental College. Before his appointment at Penn GSE, he was a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Institute of Health (NIH) Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Development Research Institutes in New York City and lectured at CUNY Brooklyn College. Aikins currently advises 60 full- and part-time master’s students in the Higher Education Division, oversees the Penn GSE Graduate Assistantship Program, and teaches graduate classes. His research interests focus on college student health, mental health, substance abuse, and the use of artificial intelligence in educational settings. Aikins is particularly concerned with the institutional responses to COVID-19 affecting campus health outcomes. He has presented invited talks at major associations and published extensively in peer-reviewed journals. Aikins holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Organizational Change from UCLA and has been recognized with the Margaret J. Barr Research Award from the U.S. Department of Education for his research on stimulant medication use among college students.

Research Interests