Matthew Alemu

Matthew Alemu's research broadly examines the influence of growing up with an absent father on one’s life course. His most recent article, “Better than My Father, or Better than his Absence,” was published in the Qualitative Sociology journal. His forthcoming scholarship further studies the complexities of Black father absence at the individual and community levels. His upcoming book project offers novel insights into how young Black men’s visions of fatherhood and romantic relationships are shaped by their childhood experiences of father absence. Matthew Alemu completed his B.S. in Accounting at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans in 2006. Afterward, he received his MPP from the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy in 2009. In 2022, Matthew Alemu completed his PhD in the joint Sociology and Public Policy program at the University of Michigan. Prior to his doctoral studies, Matthew worked as a policy analyst at the Government Accountability Office. Matthew is also actively engaged in public scholarship on race, and his op-eds have been featured in the Detroit Free Press, Bridge Detroit, and Blavity.com.