Maureen T. Hallinan, Ph.D., is the William P. and Hazel B. White Professor of Sociology and director of the Center for Research on Educational Opportunity, Institute for Educational Initiatives at the University of Notre Dame. She received a BA from Marymount College, Tarrytown, NY, an MS from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. in Sociology and in Education from the University of Chicago. She was on the faculties at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and Stanford University, before moving to Notre Dame.

     Professor Hallinan's research is primarily in the sociology of education. She studies the determinants and consequences of the organization of students for instruction; for example, how students are assigned to ability groups and what the effects of ability group level are on student learning opportunities. She also examines the effects of school characteristics on student achievement and social development. Her work includes studies of the formation and duration of students' cross-race friendships in middle and secondary schools.

    Professor Hallinan was the principal investigator of the Comparative Analysis of Best Practices in Public and Private Elementary and Secondary Schools project, a five-year study funded by the U.S. Department of Education to determine the best practices adopted by educators to promote student learning and social development. Professor Hallinan has been the recipient of research grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Spencer Foundation.  

    With over 100 articles in professional journals, Professor Hallinan is also the author or editor of eight books and has several chapters in edited volumes. She most recently edited School Sector and Student Outcomes (2006, Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press).

Other recent publications include:

Sadovnik, A., A. Dworkin, A. Gamoran, Maureen T. Hallinan, & J. Scott. 2007. “Conclusion: Sociological Perspectives on NCLB and Federal Involvement in Education.” In Sadovnik, A. et al. (Eds.), No Child Left Behind and the Reduction of the Achievement Gap: Sociological Perspectives on Federal Educational Policy. NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

Hallinan, Maureen T. (2007). Social capital effects on student outcomes. In V. Bartkus & J. Davis (Eds.), Social Capital: Multidisciplinary Perspectives. Northhampton, MA: Edward Elgar Press.   

Hallinan, Maureen T. & Brandy J. Ellison. (2007). Curricular tracks. In K. Borman, S. Cahill, & B. Cotner (Eds.), The Praeger Handbook of American High Schools, vol. 1, pp. 99-106. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Hallinan, Maureen T. (Ed.). (2006). School Sector Effects on Educational Outcomes. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.

Hallinan, Maureen T. (2006). Introduction. In M. T. Hallinan (Ed.), School Sector Effects on Educational Outcomes. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.

Hallinan, Maureen T., & Ellison, B. J. (2006). The practice of ability grouping: Sector differences in implementation. In M. T. Hallinan (Ed.), School Sector Effects on Educational Outcomes. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.

Hallinan, Maureen T. (2006). Present status of sociology in the United States. Journal of Applied Sociology, 48, 1-17. [Tokyo, Japan: Rikkyo University.]

Kubitschek, Warren N., Maureen T. Hallinan, Stephanie M. Arnett, & Kim S. Galipeau. (2005). High school schedule changes and the effect of lost instructional time on achievement. The High School Journal 89(1), Oct./Nov., 63-71.

Hallinan, Maureen T. (2005) Should your school eliminate tracking? The history of tracking and detracking in America's schools. Education Matters, April, 1-2.

Hallinan, Maureen T. (2005). The normative culture of a school and student socialization. In Larry Hedges & Barbara Schneider (Eds.), Social Organization of Schooling, 129-146. New York: Russell Sage.

Professor Hallinan was president of the American Sociological Association in 1995-1996 and president of the Sociological Research Association in 2000. She was elected to the National Academy of Education in 1999 and served as the Chair of the Nominating Committee, 2004-05. Currently, Professor Hallinan is on the Membership Committee of the Sociological Research Association, 2006-07. She is also a member of the honorary societies: Alpha Kappa Delta, Phi Beta Kappa, and Pi Lambda Theta. Maureen is the recipient of the Willard Waller Award from the American Sociological Association (2004), as well as these awards from the University of Notre Dame: Excellence in Research on Catholic Education Award (2007), Faculty Award (2006), Research Achievement Award (2003), and Presidential Award Citation (1997).