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University of Southern California

About the Dean

Pedro A. Noguera is the Emery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops Dean of the USC Rossier School of Education and a Distinguished Professor of Education. A sociologist by training, Dean Noguera has spent his career studying the ways schools are shaped by social and economic conditions and advocating for systems that work for every child. Since joining USC Rossier in 2020, he has led the school with a clear and urgent conviction: that equity is not an aspiration—it is the work.

Dean speaking at a podium in front of a red curtain, resting a hand on the lectern

About the Dean

Biography

A sociologist, Pedro A. Noguera’s research focuses on the ways in which schools are influenced by social and economic conditions, as well as by demographic trends in local, regional and global contexts. He is the author, co-author and editor of 15 books. His most recent books are A Search for Common Ground: Conversations About the Toughest Questions in K–12 Education (Teachers College Press) with Rick Hess and City Schools and the American Dream: The Enduring Promise of Public Education (Teachers College Press) with Esa Syeed.

He has published over 250 research articles in academic journals, book chapters in edited volumes, research reports and editorials in major newspapers. He serves on the boards of numerous national and local organizations, including the Economic Policy Institute, the National Equity Project and The Nation. Noguera appears as a regular commentator on educational issues on several national media outlets, and his editorials on educational issues have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Dallas Morning News and Los Angeles Times.

Prior to being appointed Dean of the USC Rossier School of Education, Noguera served as a Distinguished Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. Before joining the faculty at UCLA he served as a tenured professor and holder of endowed chairs at New York University (2004–2015), Harvard University (2000–2003) and the University of California, Berkeley (1990–2000).

“Our programs are designed to challenge and inspire students, equipping them with the skills and experiences necessary to excel in the field of education.”

Noguera was recently appointed to serve as a special advisor to the governor of New Mexico on education policy. He also advises the state departments of education in Washington, Oregon and Nevada. From 2009–2012 he served as a trustee for the State University of New York as an appointee of the governor. In 2014 he was elected to the National Academy of Education and Phi Delta Kappa honor society, and in 2020 Noguera was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Noguera has received seven honorary doctorates from American universities, and he recently received awards from the Center for the Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, from the National Association of Secondary School Principals and from the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at NYU for his research and advocacy efforts aimed at fighting poverty.

USC Rossier Impact Report

Our mission is to prepare leaders to achieve educational equity through practice, research and policy. We work to improve learning opportunities and outcomes in urban settings and to address disparities that affect historically marginalized groups.

We teach our students to value and respect the cultural context of the communities in which they work and to interrogate the systems of power that shape policies and practices. Through innovative thinking and research, we strive to solve the most intractable educational problems.

Read the Impact Report

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