USC Rossier School of Education Professor Jessica T. DeCuir-Gunby, a globally-acclaimed educational psychologist and racial equity expert, has been named the next executive director of the USC Race and Equity Center. DeCuir-Gunby is a tenured full professor and the Robert H. Naslund Chair in Curriculum and Teaching. She also is president of the educational psychology division of the American Psychological Association [APA].
“I am excited about the opportunity to serve as the next executive director of the USC Race and Equity Center,” DeCuir-Gunby exclaims. “The Center has long been a leader in illuminating and disrupting systems of oppression to advance equity for marginalized groups. I look forward to helping continue this legacy.”
DeCuir-Gunby has published four books, including Race and Ethnicity in the Study of Motivation in Education [Routledge, 2016] and Understanding Critical Race Research Methods and Methodologies [Routledge, 2019]. In addition, she has published dozens of articles in Educational Researcher, Review of Educational Research, Educational Psychologist, Contemporary Educational Psychology, Teachers College Record, and many other top journals. Her research has been cited in more than 9,000 published studies.
Prior to joining the USC Rossier faculty in 2022, DeCuir-Gunby was a professor and head of the Teacher Education and Learning Sciences Department at North Carolina State University. Before that, she spent five years as the Department’s Graduate Programs Director. She is an APA Fellow and an American Educational Research Association Fellow. More than $4 million in National Science Foundation grants have funded her work. USC Rossier presented her its 2024 Excellence in Teaching Award.
“I am delighted that Professor DeCuir-Gunby has agreed to serve as the Center’s new executive director,” says Pedro Noguera, Emery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops Dean of the USC Rossier School of Education. “Jessica’s scholarship is widely acclaimed and her contributions to the field of education have been significant. She will bring tremendous vision and insight to this important leadership opportunity.”
DeCuir-Gunby succeeds the Center’s founder Shaun Harper, who served nearly 14 years as its executive director.
“I very publicly announced my plans to transition out of the executive directorship over 2½ years ago,” Harper notes. “In a Diverse Issues in Higher Education article published 12 months ago, I committed myself to remaining in the role long enough to find the right successor whom I am confident will sustain our center for many years to come. Thankfully, we have found an extraordinarily talented woman who is ready right now. I absolutely trust Jessica to lead us with inspiring creativity and deep fidelity to our mission, as well as consistent demonstrations of authentic care for our 22 employees, 111 faculty affiliates, dozens of external partners, and hundreds of clients.”
Harper, the Clifford and Betty Allen Chair in Urban Leadership, is remaining in the Center as its Chief Research Scientist. He also will maintain his prestigious University Professor and Provost Professor appointments in the USC Rossier School of Education, Marshall School of Business, and Price School of Public Policy.
Founded in 2011 at the University of Pennsylvania, the Center relocated to USC in 2017. It has generated over $50 million in grants, contracts, gifts, and investments under Harper’s leadership. The Los Angeles Unified School District, New York City Department of Education, Los Angeles Community College District, Princeton University, Nike, T-Mobile, Major League Baseball, The White House, Philadelphia Mayor’s Office, City of Los Angeles, City of Portland, and State of Colorado are among the more than 700 institutions and organizations with which the Center has worked. It is the diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy architect and implementation partner for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympic Games.
Grants from the U.S. Department of Education, Atlantic Philanthropies, and the Bill & Melinda Gates, ECMC, Lumina, Kresge, College Futures, Walton Family, Ford, Sloan, Kellogg, Annie E. Casey, Walmart, and Open Society Foundations have funded the Center’s research and programs. Spencer Foundation and Amalgamated Charitable Foundation are supporting the Center’s current DEI defense work in K-12 schools and higher education institutions across America.
“Dr. Harper’s visionary leadership through an extraordinary time of racial reckoning in this country has pushed racial equity work to the forefront in ways that cannot be stopped,” says Jade Agua, the Center’s Chief Learning Officer. “I look forward to continuing the work in partnership with leaders, communities, and center colleagues who are committed to a more equitable and just future.”
