Dr. Curtis C. Cain is an associate professor in the Department of Human-Centered Computing and Social Informatics at Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology. His research, teaching, and service advance equity in higher education through data-driven systems, culturally responsive analytics, and institutional transformation, operating from the conviction that data should be used not only to describe disparities but to dismantle the structures that sustain them.
Cain's work sits at the intersection of educational equity, applied data science, and organizational change. He leads research on access, attainment, and belonging for historically marginalized learners through institutional partnerships, federal initiatives, and philanthropic investments. His portfolio includes leadership roles on multi-million-dollar projects funded by the National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, Office of Naval Research, Department of Defense, and Google. Cain is also an NSF CAREER award recipient; that project examined pathways, obstacles, and systemic barriers to entering and thriving in computing, with the goal of reinforcing asset-based experiences to broaden participation in the discipline.
Prior to joining Penn State, Cain held a tenured faculty appointment at Howard University and served as Director of Broadening Participation Initiatives at the Computing Research Association, where he supported emerging scholars and practitioners through mentorship, research fellowships, and capacity-building efforts in data ethics, qualitative inquiry, and community-engaged scholarship.
