David Silverman

David Silverman is joining the FAS as Assistant Professor of Psychology. He is broadly interested in educational and economic inequity, including both the factors that impede many young people's access to opportunity and the kinds of programs and policies that can level the playing field.

Much of Silverman’s research is done in partnership with local schools and emphasizes the beneficial effects of "strength-based approaches" that recognize the valuable skills and resources that people gain from their otherwise stigmatized identities.  

Silverman has shown that leading teachers, peers, and other key figures in young people's lives to adopt these approaches increases everything from marginalized students' comfort and confidence in the classroom to their likelihood of graduating college and achieving upward mobility.

Silverman’s work has led to publications in leading journals, including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Human Behaviour, and Current Directions in Psychological Science.