UCLA Education Professor Tyrone Howard Named President of American Education Research Association

Tyrone C. Howard, Pritzker Family Endowed Chair of Education in the UCLA School of Education & Information Studies, has been named president of the American Education Research Association for 2023-2024.

As president, Howard will help to lead the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. In doing so, he joins with more than 25,000 AERA members in the U.S. and across the globe working to advance knowledge about education, encourage scholarly inquiry and promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. 

"I am beyond honored, humbled, and excited to be taking on the presidency of the world's largest educational research organization for the next year,” Howard said. “The field of education continues to face some of the most complex challenges that we have seen in recent memory. Issues continue to linger from the pandemic, racial justice in schools and colleges remains elusive, mental health matters are pervasive, and we have yet to attain educational equity for minoritized populations. I am looking forward to working with some of the world's most dedicated and talented scholars, practitioners, and policy makers on making a notable impact on some of the most vexing issues we see across the educational spectrum"

As professor of education at UCLA, Howard’s research addresses issues tied to race, culture, access and educational opportunity for minoritized student populations in Los Angeles and beyond. His work is keenly focused on equity, and his research has helped to illuminate the challenges and complexities, as well as the strengths and resilience that Black and Brown students bring to their pursuit of education and learning. 

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to see Professor Tyrone Howard take the helm at AERA for 2023-2024,” said Na'ilah Suad Nasir, president of the Spencer Foundation and a previous president of AERA. “He will bring scholarly excellence, deep wisdom, and thoughtful engagement with practitioners, systems leaders, and policy experts to the role. He is a visionary leader and scholar, and I can’t wait to see where he takes the field and the organization.”

In addition to teaching at UCLA, Howard serves as the director of UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children & Families, and is also the co-faculty director of the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools (CTS), a campus-wide consortium examining academic, mental health, and social emotional experiences and challenges for California’s most vulnerable youth populations. Professor Howard is also the founder and leader of the UCLA Black Male Institute, now housed at CTS.

Since 2019, Howard has worked with colleagues at UCLA CTS and other institutions to conduct and publish new research detailing the educational status of Black students in Los Angeles County and exploring how various educational, health, and social factors, including homelessness and exposure to environmental pollution, impact their academic and developmental outcomes.  Additional research has examined the impact of COVID-19 and reopening schools for Black Youth, as well as a recent paper shining a light on the “bright spots,” the schools and organizations creating and cultivating excellence and opportunity for young Black people in Los Angeles County.  

Professor Howard is also the author of several books, including, "Why Race and Culture Matters in Schools" (Teachers College Press) and "All Students Must Thrive" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), among others. He is a native of Compton, California, where he also served as a classroom teacher. Howard is a member of the National Academy of Education and is an AERA Fellow.

“Tyrone Howard is an outstanding scholar whose work addresses issues critical and of consequence for students, educators and education around the world," said Christina Christie, Wasserman Dean of the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies. “He brings care and compassion to all that he does, always placing people, well-being, and justice at the Center of his work. I know that AERA will do “good” and exceptionally well with Tyrone as its new leader.”