Dr. Will Tyson is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of South Florida. His research examines interpersonal and structural influences on STEM educational and career pathways out of high schools, community colleges, and four-year universities. Dr. Tyson has 16 years of experience as a National Science Foundation (NSF) grantee serving in multiple roles on eight different projects totaling over $8 million, including $3 million as a Principal Investigator of three PathTech projects. PathTech Tampa Bay (2011-15) was a holistic examination of pathways into and out of high school career and technical education career academies, community college advanced technology programs, and manufacturing and high-tech jobs in the Tampa Bay area. PathTech LIFE (2015-19) is a national survey of students enrolled in community college advanced technology programs. The survey includes data from 3,216 students at 96 colleges in 38 states and 3 US territories. PathTech LISTEN (2018-21) is longitudinal follow-up interviews with a diverse sample of PathTech LIFE survey participates with the goal of creating a longitudinal survey.
Dr. Tyson is the author of the forthcoming Teaching and Learning Employability Skills in Career and Technical Education: Industry, Educator, and Student Perspectives (2020), under contract with Palgrave Macmillan. This book examines how high school career and technical education (CTE) educators teach and students learn industry-desired employability skills (also called “soft skills”) to prepare students to get a job in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) field and/or attend college right out of high school. These personal and interpersonal skills such as work ethic, problem solving, and teamwork include the cultural capital needed to apply and benefit from academic skills and cognitive ability. These skills are also necessary to be competitive for the estimated 30 million jobs in the United States that do not require a bachelor’s degree yet pay an average of $55,000 a year.
Dr. Tyson is a co-editor of Becoming an Engineer in Public Universities: Pathways for Women and Minorities (2010). Dr. Tyson has also served on several expert panels related to STEM education research and practice, most recently including the editorial board of Sociology of Education (2011-13, 2017-19) and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Committee on Engineering Technology Education (2014-16). Dr. Tyson currently serves or has served as a social researcher, evaluator, or advisory board member for NSF-funded projects at University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Florida State University, Palm Beach State College, and SRI International.