From First Gen to Faculty

Bauer College alumnus Horatio Traylor (Ph.D. '26) started his doctoral program as a first-generation student aiming to forge a new path for himself and his family.

This fall, he'll bring a portfolio of research and a network of scholarly connections to a tenure-track faculty position at the University of Texas at Arlington.

“In the doctoral program at Bauer, the biggest resource was that I had people available to me at every juncture,” Traylor said. “I came into academia never really having met people with Ph.D.s before, and I needed that guidance early on. Then, once I started to come into my own, they allowed me to do that.”

He said that working with his faculty advisor Associate Professor Enrica Ruggs, along with management Ph.D. coordinator Professor Derek Avery and Assistant Professor Lawrence Houston helped him to get his research published in top academic journals.

“I think Horatio is doing important work for society,” Ruggs said. “I really want him to continue to explore, be intellectually curious and ask questions that are not only important to him, but ones that make a difference for workers throughout the world.”

Traylor also found financial support in his journey through research grants and other resources, similar to what is available to faculty in the college.

In the Bauer program, Traylor's doctoral dissertation examines an understudied population called “upward social class transitioners,” which he describes as people from a lower socioeconomic background who move into a higher social class through education or their careers.

“My research largely centers around the employee experience and how identities either become assets or liabilities within the workplace," Traylor said. "When people transition from working class backgrounds to these white-collar jobs and careers, they tend to find some really interesting value differences based on how they grew up versus what they're encountering in the workplace. My research centers around what happens after people get into the organization, how do we make sure that they are onboarded correctly? How do we make sure that they feel included within the workplace spectrum post social class transition?"

Traylor said he is eager to transition from doctoral student to faculty member this fall at UT Arlington, bringing to the classroom some of what he learned from his Bauer professors, including Avery and Ruggs.

“In my first year of the program, I was learning the way that people teach,” he said. “Some people talk more, lecture-style, and other people ask questions, and it feels like the students are doing most of the talking. When you get in the classroom, you realize all of it is a symbiotic relationship between you and the students, and your job is to figure out which flow works best for that set of students.”

The Bauer doctoral program is committed to developing students into robust scholars, ultimately placing graduates in top-ranked research universities, both internationally and in the United States, Ph.D. Programs Director Ye Hu said.

“We celebrate Horatio’s achievement, which reflects both his own hard work and the strength of the research community we are building at Houston Bauer,” Hu said. “We are committed to helping our Ph.D. students thrive, develop strong research pipelines and prepare for successful academic careers.”