UMass Amherst Changemakers: Tatishe Nteta

Tatishe Nteta, associate professor of political science at UMass Amherst and director of the UMass Poll, conducts groundbreaking research on the underlying dynamics of political attitudes, opinions and behaviors.

Nteta’s central research is about trying to understand the impact of race in the 21st century. He also leads the UMass Poll, which provides comprehensive data on the health of the American democracy and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to policymakers and members of the public. Its goal is to focus on sharing nonpartisan and nonideological information to allow citizens to assess the current and future civic health of the state and nation.

“I think it’s important to get people educated. That’s part and parcel what my job is about — to educate young people about this issue of race and ethnicity and immigration and identity more generally, and to provide that information to them to help them chart solutions to these problems,” Nteta says. “I don’t want my kids to live in the country I grew up in and I don’t think my kids want their kids to grow up in the country that they grew up in. We want to improve.”