William Tobin

William A. Tobin is a civil rights attorney and a research fellow at Duke University. He received a Ph.D. from Stanford University and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Beginning with his time as a consulting attorney under Julius Chambers at the University of North Carolina Law School’s Civil Rights Center, his work has been focused on developing collaboratives nationwide that aim to create high quality inclusive educational environments across the K-12/Higher Education spectrum. He has worked with city superintendents, researchers, and college officials to improve college access and success for high school students.

At Duke University he directed the American Experience Program in the FOCUS interdisciplinary Program, created and co-directed three undergraduate academic programs: 1) the honors program in the Department of Sociology, 2) DukeEngage in Dublin--a summer research and civic engagement program for undergraduates--and 3) the Citizenship Lab--a community-based collaboration made up of high school and college students focused on understanding, explaining, and responding to the challenges of global migration in Durham and beyond.

Prior to coming to Duke he was a tenured Lecturer in Modern History at the National University of Ireland and an elementary school teacher in Boston and Baltimore City. Tobin has published on American History, social science and educational reform.