Shaun Harper

Biography

Two U.S. Presidents and a California Governor have appointed Shaun Harper to important public service roles. He is one of 15 Provost Professors, an elite cadre of interdisciplinary faculty members who hold joint appointments in two or more academic schools at the University of Southern California. He is a tenured faculty member in the Price School of Public Policy, Rossier School of Education, and Marshall School of Business. Dr. Harper was named University Professor in 2022, a distinction bestowed only to 30 of nearly 4,700 full-time USC faculty members. He also is the Clifford and Betty Allen Chair in Urban Leadership, the USC Race and Equity Center’s founder and chief research scientist, and a USC Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy & Government Service senior scholar. He has been a National Education Policy Center Fellow since 2016.

Professor Harper is best known for his rigorous scholarship on racial and gender equity in policymaking, educational, and corporate contexts. He has published 13 books and over 100 academic papers. One book, Scandals in College Sports, offers analyses of policy violations that occurred over four decades. Harvard Education Press published his book, The Big Lie About Race in America’s Schools, in September 2024. The following summer, Teachers College Press released his newest book, Let’s Talk About DEI: Productive Disagreements About America’s Most Polarizing Topics. He is currently finalizing his next book, which is on the implementation of name, image, and likeness policies in college athletics.

The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and hundreds of other news outlets have quoted Shaun and featured his research. He has interviewed on CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, PBS, and NPR. Dr. Harper’s research also has been cited in over 26,000 published studies, on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, and in multiple amicus briefs submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court. He has testified to Congress three times and spoken at numerous White House, federal agency, and Congressional Black Caucus convenings. He also led and hosted the 2014 White House Summit on Educational Excellence for African Americans.

The recipient of dozens of top awards in his field and six honorary degrees, Professor Harper has been repeatedly recognized in Education Week as one of the 10 most influential scholars in the field of education; he was ranked #4 overall in 2023 and #1 in education policy in 2025. Dr. Harper has served as president of both the American Educational Research Association and the Association for the Study of Higher Education. He is a National Academy of Education inductee.

During his 14 years as its executive director, the USC Race and Equity Center generated more than $51 million in grants, contracts, and investments. The U.S. Air Force, Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, New York City Department of Education, Philadelphia Mayor’s Office, City of Los Angeles, Google, Microsoft, Nike, Major League Baseball, and the National Football League are among the more than 400 agencies, businesses, and institutions with which Dr. Harper has worked. Over 3.5 million people have read the 130+ articles he has authored for the Washington Post, Forbes, CNN.com, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, TIME magazine, Inside Higher Ed, Chronicle of Higher Education, and other widely-read newspapers and magazines.

Selected Publications

• Harper, S. R. (2022). Advancing and sustaining racial justice in pro sports. Los Angeles: University of Southern California, Race and Equity Center.
• Harper, S. R. (2021). Black people vs. educational culprits engaged in our systemic mass incarceration in the United States of America. Peabody Journal of Education, 96(5), 582-587.
• Harper, S. R. (2021). Racial tensions between presidents and governing boards. Trusteeship, 30-34.