Dr. Avalos is an associate professor of politics and ethnic studies in the department of social and behavioral sciences at Arizona State University West. He is also the vice-provost for research and faculty development and the associate director of the Hispanic Research Center at Arizona State University at the West Campus. His current research focuses on questions of racial inequality in the Americas and the political incorporation of the Latino electorate at the state, local and national level. He is currently working on the completion of an analysis of the impact of the Latino vote on the 2000 Presidential election with special emphasis on Arizona and the impact of the 2000 political redistricting process on Latino political representation in Arizona.

Dr. Avalos completed his doctorate at the University of New Mexico and did postdoctoral work at the Center for Mexican-American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He was a founding member and co-chair in 1997-98 of the American Political Science Association Organized Section on Race, Ethnicity and Politics. He has recently also served as chair of the Western Political Science Association's Committee on the Status of Chicana/os in the Profession.