Race in K-12, Higher Education and Corporate Contexts, Urban Education, Boys and Men of Color, College Student Success, Intercollegiate Athletics
Shaun Harper is one of the nation’s most highly respected racial equity experts. He is a Provost Professor in the USC Rossier School of Education and the USC Marshall School of Business. In 2022, he was appointed University Professor, a distinction bestowed only to 27 of 4,700 USC full-time faculty. Dr. Harper also is the Clifford and Betty Allen Chair in Urban Leadership; founder and executive director of the USC Race and Equity Center; and chair of the University Committee on Appointments, Promotion and Tenure. He served as the 2020-21 American Educational Research Association president and the 2016-17 Association for the Study of Higher Education president. Additionally, he was inducted into the National Academy of Education in 2021 and appointed by U.S. President Joe Biden to the National Board for Education Sciences in 2022.
Dr. Harper’s research focuses primarily on race, gender, and other dimensions of equity in an array of organizational contexts, including K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and corporations. He has published 12 books and over 100 other academic publications. Review of Research in Education, Teachers College Record, Harvard Educational Review, American Journal of Education, Journal of Higher Education, and Review of Higher Education are some journals in which he has published. His research has been cited in nearly 23,000 published studies across a vast array of academic fields and disciplines. Atlantic Philanthropies and the Bill & Melinda Gates, Lumina, Ford, Kellogg, ECMC, College Futures, Kresge, Sloan, and Open Society Foundations have awarded him nearly $22 million in grants. His center has also procured more than $14 million in contracts.
The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Chronicle of Higher Education, and hundreds of other news outlets have quoted Professor Harper and featured his research. He has interviewed on CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, and NPR. He also has testified twice to the United States House of Representatives and spoken at numerous White House convenings. Dr. Harper served on President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Advisory Council; on the national education policy committee for the Biden-Harris Campaign; and on California Governor Gavin Newsom’s statewide task force on higher education, racial equity, and COVID-19 recovery.
The recipient of dozens of top awards in his field and four 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 in 2023.