Brandi Jones has been promoted to professor of research at the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education. She has also joined the USC Race and Equity Center as our inaugural Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff. Previously, Jones was Associate Professor of Engineering Education Practice and Vice Dean for Diversity and Strategic Initiatives in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. She has also held leadership roles at Princeton University, California Institute of Technology, and Occidental College.
“A staunch commitment to racial equity, combined with decades of significant leadership experiences in higher education, made Brandi an obvious choice for us,” says Shaun Harper, the Center’s Executive Director. “I first met Professor Jones in 2011, the same year I founded the center. I have since been so consistently impressed by her expertise, elegance, stature, and excellent reputation in the field of higher education. We are incredibly fortunate to have attracted her to our executive leadership team.”
A Southern California native, Jones earned her bachelor’s degree from San José State University and a master’s degree from California State University, Long Beach. Her doctorate in Higher Education Management is from the University of Pennsylvania. Black In The Lab: A Portraiture of Black Students in Highly-Ranked Engineering Ph.D. Programs at Predominantly White Universities, Jones’ dissertation, earned distinction from the Penn Graduate School of Education.
Jones continues to conduct research on a range of diversity, equity, and inclusion topics in higher education and other organizational settings. She has particular expertise on the experiences of girls, women, and students and faculty of color in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). She was co-principal investigator on a $1.5 million grant from the National Defense Agency that established the Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence, a collaboration between USC, Florida A&M University, San José State University, and Santa Monica College to develop a new generation of diverse, technically-trained professionals for the intelligence and national security industries. She also is co-Principal Investigator on a grant the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation recently awarded the USC Race and Equity Center to create a yearlong racial equity leadership academy for STEM department chairs at colleges and universities across the United States.
Jones has served on the board of directors for the National Association of Minority Engineering Program Administrators. She has also been a board member for ChickTech, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the number of women and girls pursuing STEM-based careers and to retaining women in the technology workforce. Additionally, Brandi is a member of the American Society of Engineering Education, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and The Links, Incorporated.
“Dr. Jones is exceptional at connecting scholarship and practice,” notes Michael Schneider, President of McPherson College, one of the 71 institutional members of the USC Race and Equity Center’s Liberal Arts Colleges Racial Equity Leadership Alliance. “Brandi’s passion for racial equity and stellar leadership record are among numerous assets that make her a great addition to the Center.”
