Dr. Robert Cotto, Jr. is a scholar of policy in urban contexts and history of education. In his scholarship, he examines the interaction of people, organizations, and policies in their historical context. As an interdisciplinary scholar drawing on American Studies, his current work focuses on the interaction of schools, Black and Latinx communities, and redevelopment in American cities.
Supported by a Dean’s Doctoral Scholarship, Robert completed his Ph.D. in the Learning, Leadership, and Education Policy program at the University of Connecticut Neag School of Education in 2022. His three-paper dissertation project is titled, Latinx and Black Parent Responses to School Closure in Redeveloping Hartford, CT. This three-paper dissertation project compared Latinx and Black community responses to school closure along lines of race, class, and gender in Hartford, Connecticut from the late Civil Rights era to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the last two decades, Dr. Cotto has taught as a history and social studies teacher in an inter district magnet public school, worked at a public policy organization, served as an elected school board member, directed an early college partnership, and designed university courses in American, educational, global, and urban studies. As an educator, scholar, and policymaker, his research and opinions on education policy, politics, community development, civil rights, and history have been noted in various media outlets. This media includes The Hartford Courant, Connecticut Public Radio, CT Latino News, The American Prospect, The Scientific American, and Education Week. Robert also served on advisory groups such as Hartford’s Landfill Closure task force and Connecticut’s Racial Equity in Public Health advisory board.
Dr. Cotto earned his bachelors in Sociology (major) and Human Development (minor) from Dartmouth College (A.B., ’03). He also completed his master’s degree in Teaching and Learning at Harvard Graduate School of Education (Ed.M., ’04) and Master of Arts (M.A., ’14) in American Studies from Trinity College with research that focused on early twentieth century Puerto Ricans in American empire. Robert still holds a Professional certification as a History and Social Studies teacher (Grade 7-12). More recently, Dr. Cotto was the first C. L. R. James Fellow (’22 – ‘23) with Trinity College Social Justice Initiative and Smart Cities Lab.
Robert’s family is Puerto Rican and Peruvian. He currently lives in Hartford, CT. His autobiographical essay, “A Coqui’s Call,” can be found in the edited volume, Mi Voz, Mi Vida: Latino College Students Tell Their Life Stories (Garrod, Kilkenny, & Gomez, 2007).
Learn more about his work and scholarship on the projects page.
Robert Cotto Jr. 