Shaun Harper is one of America’s most highly respected racial and gender equity experts. More than 3 million people have read articles he has published in the Washington Post, Forbes, Rolling Stone, Ebony, Los Angeles Times, and other well-respected newspapers and magazines. The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Chronicle of Higher Education, and several hundred other news outlets have quoted Dr. Harper and featured his research. He has interviewed on CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, PBS NewsHour, NPR, and the Dr. Phil Show.
Dr. Harper is a Provost Professor in the Marshall School of Business, Price School of Public Policy, and Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. In 2022, he was appointed University Professor, a distinction bestowed only to 30 of 4,700 USC full-time faculty members. Shaun also is the Clifford and Betty Allen Chair in Urban Leadership, founder and executive director of the USC Race and Equity Center, and a Forbes contributor. He served as the 2020-21 American Educational Research Association president and the 2016-17 Association for the Study of Higher Education president. He was inducted into the National Academy of Education in 2021.
Professor Harper has published 12 books and over 100 academic papers. His research has been cited in over 23,000 published studies across a vast array of disciplines, in multiple amicus briefs submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, and on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. He also has testified twice to the United States House of Representatives and spoken at numerous White House convenings. Shaun is the recipient of dozens of top awards in his field and four honorary degrees. His bachelor’s degree is from Albany State, a public Historically Black University in Georgia. His master’s and Ph.D. are from Indiana University.
