Dr. Alon is The Weinberg Chair in Sociology of Stratification and Inequality and the Head of The B. I. Cohen Inst. for Public Opinion Research at Tel-Aviv University. Her main research interests include social stratification and mobility, with an emphasis on the sociology of work and organizations and sociology of education. Her work focuses on unveiling the dynamics and historical processes underlying inequalities in the labor market and educational attainment, and the extent to which public policy does narrow these inequalities. Alon’s perspective is interdisciplinary and comparative, taking into account employment and educational processes and outcomes, institutional arrangements and social structures, psychological biases, as well as demographic and economic trends.
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Dr. Alon has published in leading journals in sociology, education, and economics and is the author of Race, Class, and Affirmative Action, a book-length manuscript. Alon’s research has been supported by grants from the Spencer Foundation, the American Educational Research Association, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Texas Higher Educational Opportunity Project, Israel Science Foundation, Israel Ministry of Science and Technology, Yad Hanadiv Foundation, The Edmond de Rothschild Foundation, and the initiative of AI and DS for the social good of the TAU Center for AI and Data Science (TAD). She was a visiting fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, the Russell Sage Foundation, Princeton University, and the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Education
Tel-Aviv University
1992-98 Tel-Aviv University Ph.D. Sociology & Anthropology
Tel-Aviv University
1987-91 M.A. Labor Studies
Ben-Gurion University
1984-87 B.A. Behavioral Sciences, Magna Cum Laude
Employment
2017-today
2011-16
2007-11
2002-07
Professor, Sociology and Anthropology, Tel-Aviv University
Associate Professor, Sociology and Anthropology, Tel-Aviv University
Senior Lecturer, Sociology and Anthropology, Tel-Aviv University
Lecturer, Sociology and Anthropology, Tel-Aviv University
Fellowships and Awards
2020-21 Fellow, The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University
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2017-today Fellow, The Steinhardt Institute For Higher Education Policy, New York University
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2016 Featured Grantees, The Spencer Foundation
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2012-13 Visiting Scholar, The Russell Sage Foundation, NYC
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2011 Fellow, the Institute for Research on Poverty, the University of Wisconsin, Madison
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2008 Excellence in Research Award, Tel-Aviv University
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2005-06 Fellow, Princeton University, Office of Population Research
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2001-02 Postdoctoral fellowship (Princeton University), National Institute of Health (U.S.), Distinguished National Research Service Award
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1999-2001 Postdoctoral fellowship, Princeton University
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1998-99 Research Associate, ILR School, Institute for Workplace Studies, Cornell University
Research Grants
2021-25 Israel Science Foundation, “Is The Work Society Fading Away? Shifts in the Meaning of Work in the COVID-19 Era” $281,000
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2021-22 The Edmond de Rothschild Foundation, The link between academia and the labor market in an era of transformation $31,000
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2021-23 TAU Center for AI and Data Science (TAD) the initiative of AI and DS for social good. “How Recommendation Systems Lead to Polarization” (with Ran Gilad-Bachrach and Dafna Gelbgiser) $62,000
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2020 Ministry of Science and Technology. “The Future of Work in Corona Era: The Disruption in Work-Related Behavior and Attitudes.” $12,000
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2019-20 Yad Hanadiv, “From Academic Potential to Academic Excellence” $31,000
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2019-20 The Edmond de Rothschild Foundation, “Field of Study Choice and Dropping out from College” $31,000
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2017-20 Israel Science Foundation, “The Growing Importance of Education Quality for Intergenerational Reproduction of Inequality” $150,000
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2013-15 Yad Hanadiv, “Field of Study of Arabs from Application to Israeli Flagship Universities to Graduation” $95,000
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2008-13 The Spencer Foundation, "Extending Opportunity at Israel’s Selective Universities: The Case of Class-based Affirmative Action" $485,145
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2006 The Spencer Foundation, "New Conceptual Framework for Assessing the Influence of Financial Aid on Student Success" $20,000
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2005-07 American Educational Research Association, "New Conceptual Framework for Assessing the Influence of Financial Aid on Student Success" $35,000
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2005-06 The Texas Higher Educational Opportunity Project, Collaborating Investigator (PI: Tienda, Sullivan) $30,000
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2002 Israeli Misrad Haklita, Returning Scientists, $17,000
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Tel-Aviv University internal research grants: TAU research fund 2013; Institute for Social Research, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009; The Yonathan Shapira Foundation, 2003, 2005, 2007