Dr. Aryn Dotterer

Contact Information

Biography

Dr. Dotterer is the Executive Director of GEAR UP programs at Utah State University and the principal investigator of the USU STARS! GEAR UP. Across her roles, Dr. Dotterer provides logistical and conceptual oversight, monitors budgeting and compliance, manages reporting, engages in research, and disseminates information to stakeholders. Dr. Dotterer uses her expertise on adolescent development in the context of family and school to carry out the mission of GEAR UP to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. Her program of research examines the role of parental involvement and parent-child relationships on racial/ethnic minority adolescents’ school engagement and academic achievement. A related line of inquiry has focused on underrepresented students in STEM and has explored family socialization, out-of-school time STEM, and contextual issues including school type and racial/ethnic discrimination as they relate to STEM identity and STEM belonging.