Rewriting the Story of Who Thrives in Education
Insights on gender, class, religion, and institutional design that reshape how leaders support students.
Across higher education, leaders are facing urgent questions.
Why are working-class boys disengaging earlier than ever while girls persist to exhaustion?
Why do graduate students feel unprepared for an academic and professional landscape defined by uncertainty?
How do students' social origins shape their educational journey?
Ilana helps campuses, educators, and policymakers rethink long-held assumptions by revealing what her longitudinal research makes clear:
Educational outcomes are not individual achievements.
They are relational, structural, and deeply shaped by identity and opportunity.
Meet Ilana Horwitz
Dr. Ilana Horwitz is an award-winning sociologist, an assistant professor at Tulane University, and a nationally recognized scholar whose work uncovers how gender, social class, religious upbringing, and institutional support shape educational pathways.
She is the author of God, Grades, and Graduation, The Entrepreneurial Scholar, and the forthcoming Boys Alone, Girls Exhausted. She is a widely sought-after speaker for her ability to translate complex social science into practical insights for educators, faculty leaders, and policymakers.
A public-facing scholar committed to making research accessible, Ilana helps institutions understand the forces shaping student success and what needs to change to support the next generation.
Ilana Horwitz’s Signature Keynotes & Programs
The Entrepreneurial Scholar
Equip graduate students, postdocs, and academic leaders with the mindset shifts needed to succeed in an uncertain academic landscape. Topics include agency, knowledge production, and navigating uncertainty, supported by interactive frameworks and tools.
Gender, Class, and the Hidden Architecture of Inequality
Based on her forthcoming book, this talk reveals why boys drop out of the education system early, why girls seem to persist longer, and why class reshapes both experiences, transforming how institutions support student success.
Religion, Social Class, and Educational Stratification
Ilana examines how religious upbringing influences academic outcomes and why scholars must take religion seriously as a stratifying force.
“Fantastic talk at Council of Graduate Schools by Ilana Horwitz on her book “The Entrepreneurial Scholar”. Very actionable and high-value activities for students that are easy to implement. I like the questions and think about how I’m going to put some of the activities into my existing lectures and create new ones!”
Tracy Costello, PhD
Assistant Dean, Postdoc Affairs & MS/PhD/Postdoc professional development
Past Audiences Include
The Entrepreneurial Scholar
Published by Princeton University Press, this book focuses on graduate education and the mindset shifts scholars need to succeed in today’s academic landscape. It offers frameworks for moving from passive training to active knowledge production and navigating uncertainty.
God, Grades, & Graduation
A book published by Oxford University Press that examines how religious upbringing and social class influence educational outcomes. It challenges assumptions about religion’s role in schooling and shows why religion still matters in understanding student success.
*Winner of the distinguished book award from the American Sociological Association’s religion section.
Burnt Out and Left Behind
A forthcoming book that reframes the national conversation about the gender gap in higher education. Based on a decade of longitudinal research, it explains why boys and girls struggle in different ways and how class alters those patterns.
