July 2021

Lori Patton Davis, professor of higher education and student affairs at Ohio State University—and an influential scholar known for her cross-cutting scholarship on African Americans in higher education, critical race theory, diversity initiatives on college campuses, Black girls and women in educational and social contexts, and college student development—has been selected by AERA to present the 2021 Brown Lecture in Education Research. This public lecture will take place virtually on Thursday, October 21, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. ET. Register here.

A highly respected and accomplished researcher, Davis is the co-author and co-editor of several important books on college student development and the author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and other academic publications appearing in highly regarded venues such as the American Educational Research Journal, the Journal of Higher Education, Urban Education, and the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. Her research has been cited in multiple publications and funded by grants from the Spencer Foundation, the Lumina Foundation, the American Psychological Foundation, and numerous other organizations.

“Dr. Davis has greatly advanced our understanding of social justice in higher education contexts through her rigorous and substantive scholarship,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “Her work ties in seamlessly with the purpose of the Brown Lecture as a venue for spotlighting the crucial role of research in understanding and addressing equity and equality in education.”

Davis, who chairs the educational studies department at Ohio State, is past president of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) and was elected the inaugural director of equity and inclusion on the American College Personnel Association’s (ACPA) governing board. She was co-chair of the 2021 AERA Annual Meeting presidential program committee and served as equity and inclusion officer for AERA’s Division J (Postsecondary Education). Davis has won multiple awards for her scholarship from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, ACPA, and ASHE.

Davis has a doctorate in higher education from Indiana University and a master’s degree in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University.

The Brown Lecture, now in its 18th year, was inaugurated by AERA in 2004 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, in which the U.S. Supreme Court took scientific research into account in issuing its landmark ruling.

The 2021 Brown Lecture Selection Committee included AERA President Na’ilah Suad Nasir (Spencer Foundation); AERA Past President Shaun Harper (University of Southern California); AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine; AERA Diversity Officer George L. Wimberly; Michelle Knight-Manuel (Teachers College, Columbia University), AERA Social Justice Action Committee (selection committee chair); Jamel Donnor (College of William and Mary), AERA Social Justice Action Committee; and Vinetta Jones (Howard University), AERA Social Justice Action Committee.