Shaun Harper, Ph.D.

Shaun R. Harper is a tenured faculty member in the Graduate School of Education, Africana Studies, and Gender Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also is Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education. Dr. Harper’s research examines race and gender in higher education, Black male college access and achievement, and college student engagement. He is author of over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and other academic publications. Review of Research in Education, Journal of Higher Education, Teachers College Record, Journal of College Student Development, and The Review of Higher Education are some of the many journals in which Dr. Harper’s research is published. His 11 books include Student Engagement in Higher Education (Routledge, 2009, 2014), College Men and Masculinities (Jossey-Bass, 2010), Advancing Black Male Student Success from Preschool through Ph.D. (Stylus, 2014), and the 5th edition of Student Services: A Handbook for the Profession (Jossey-Bass, 2011).

Several education associations have praised Dr. Harper’s scholarship, including the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (2004 Dissertation of the Year Award, 2010 Outstanding Contribution to Research Award, 2012 Robert H. Shaffer Award for Faculty Excellence, 2013 Pillar of the Profession); American Educational Research Association (2010 Early Career Award, Division G); American College Personnel Association (2005 Emerging Scholar Award, 2006 Annuit Coeptis Award, and 2014 Contribution to Knowledge Award); National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics (2008 Excellence in Research Award); and the Association for the Study of Higher Education (2008 Early Career Award). Professor Harper’s research has been funded by grants from the Andrew W. Melon Foundation, Lumina Foundation, and Open Society Foundations.

Dr. Harper earned his bachelor’s degree from Albany State, a historically Black university in Georgia, and Ph.D. from Indiana University. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.