Since 2004, Dr. Joyce E. King has served as the Benjamin E. Mays Endowed Chair for Urban Teaching, Learning and Leadership and Professor of Educational Policy Studies in the College of Education & Human Development at Georgia State University.
Previously, Dr. King held senior academic affairs positions as Provost at Spelman College, Associate Provost at Medgar Evers College, CUNY and Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Diversity Programs at the University of New Orleans. She was the director of teacher education for twelve years at Santa Clara University and the first head of the Ethnic Studies Department at Mills College. She completed two prestigious leadership programs: the American Council on Education Fellowship at Stanford University with the President, the Vice President for Planning and Management, and the Office for Multicultural Development. As a W.K. Kellogg National Fellowship recipient, King also studied women’s leadership and grassroots participation in social change in China, Brazil, France, Kenya, Japan, Mali and Peru.
Widely respected in the fields of urban education and the sociology of education, King’s research has contributed to the knowledge-base on preparing teachers for diversity and curriculum theorizing through her scholarship, teaching practice and leadership. She served on the Curriculum Commission of the State Board of Education.
Recent publications include the Harvard Educational Review, The Handbook of Research on Black Education, The Handbook of Research on Teacher Education and Voices of Historical and Contemporary Black Pioneers. In addition, King organized and edited a landmark book, Black Education: A Transformative Research and Action Agenda for the New Century that was published for the American Educational Research Association (2005).
She has served as co-editor of the top-ranked Review of Educational Research, and her concept of “dysconscious racism” continues to influence research and practice in education and sociology as well in the U.S. and in other countries. A forthcoming book produced in collaboration with teacher educators and classroom teachers is: “Re-membering” History in Student and Teacher Learning: An Afrocentric and Culturally Informed Praxis.
King has lectured in educational and community organizations in the United States, Brazil, Canada, England, Mali, Senegal, Japan, Jamaica and New Zealand. She has shared her expertise in diversity transformation as a training consultant with civic and human rights organizations and higher education institutions in the U.S. and abroad. She is also President of the Board of Directors of Food First (Institute for Food and Development Policy, Oakland, California).
A dynamic leader and visionary teacher/scholar, King has a wealth of academic, administrative and leadership experience in public, private and non-profit settings, including historical Black and predominately white colleges and universities. She has created numerous opportunities for emergent leaders of diverse backgrounds to progress in their careers. Her accomplishments reflect an emphasis on innovative interdisciplinary scholarship, culturally connected teaching and learning and inclusive transformative leadership for change often in creative partnership with communities.
Dr. King served as the 2015 President of the American Educational Research Association.