Tomás R. Jiménez, Joan B. Ford Professor of Sociology at Stanford University and founding director of Stanford’s Institute for Advancing Just Societies, is one of 13 preeminent scholars in the arts and sciences selected to serve as a ΦBK Visiting Scholar during the 2026–2027 academic year.
Professor Jiménez’s research and writing focus on immigration, public policy, assimilation, social mobility, and ethnic and racial identity. His scholarship examines how immigration and integration shape American society, as well as how individuals and communities understand belonging and identity. He is the author of Replenished Ethnicity: Mexican Americans, Immigration, and Identity (2010) and The Other Side of Assimilation: How Immigrants Are Changing American Life (2017), and co-author of States of Belonging: Immigration Policies, Attitudes, and Inclusion (2021). His research has appeared in leading academic journals including Science, American Sociological Review, the American Journal of Sociology, American Political Science Review, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In addition to his academic research, Jiménez’s career has led him to the intersection of scholarship and public policy. He directs the Qualitative Initiative at Stanford’s Immigration Policy Lab, which integrates qualitative and quantitative approaches to produce research with public impact; Jiménez’s current projects there focus on naturalization, refugee resettlement, and health and language access.
Jiménez was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa as an undergraduate at Santa Clara University, where he graduated magna cum laude. “Since joining Phi Beta Kappa,” he says, “I’ve taken pride in being a part of this community. Its standards of intellectual rigor have been a guiding light throughout my career.”
As a ΦBK Visiting Scholar, Jiménez will visit seven colleges and universities during the 2026–2027 academic year: Chapman University, Gettysburg College, Franklin & Marshall College, Rockford University, Knox College, Wabash College, and the University of South Carolina. He will spend time engaging with students and faculty; participating in classroom discussions and other campus
activities; and delivering lectures, free and open to the public, on refugee resettlement and immigration.
“It’s a privilege and an honor to be able to visit seven schools,” Jiménez says. “I’m excited to engage with the students and faculty at these institutions, and I’m thrilled to find out what we can learn from the engagement.”
Learn more about this year’s 13 ΦBK Visiting Scholars at pbk.org/VisitingScholars or contact Hadley Kelly, Senior Director, Academic Outreach & Programs, at hkelly@pbk.org.