Patrick Graff is a Sociology Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Notre Dame. Graff received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame in 2011 with a BA in Philosophy and Chinese. He then taught third grade in Tampa, Florida with the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) Teaching Fellows program. Following his time in the classroom, he returned to Notre Dame as an Associate Director of the ACE program before beginning doctoral work in Notre Dame’s Sociology Department. His academic research broadly focuses on educational inequality, the characteristics of effective teachers, and the organizational conditions of K-8 schools. His dissertation uses state administrative and survey data from students and teachers to examine the effects of new teachers, teacher turnover, and trust within schools.

 
Graff has also served as a graduate fellow in the City of South Bend Mayor’s Office. In this capacity, he represented the mayor to the South Bend School Board and the South Bend Community Schools Corporation while advising on local education issues. Following his doctoral work at Notre Dame, Graff hopes to continue to use his research training for roles in education policy that involve the translation of academic research to public policy and practice.