Yang Lor is an Assistant Teaching Professor at the University of California, Merced. Previously, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. He completed his Ph.D. in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley in 2018.

Born in a refugee camp to Hmong parents who fled persecution in Laos in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Professor Lor is one of ten children in his family. He is the first in his family to attend college. He received his B.A. in sociology with a minor in Asian American Studies from Stanford University and his M.A. in sociology from UC Berkeley.

Professor Lor teaches and researches education, stratification, Hmong Americans, race & ethnicity, and political participation. He has published papers on the political participation of immigrants, the educational experiences of low-income immigrant youths, and social class differences in where high-achieving students apply to college. He has taught at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Sacramento State University, and the University of the Pacific. He can be reached at ylor2@ucmerced.edu.