Kendrick Davis

Dr. Kendrick B. Davis is a Professor of Research at the Rossier School of Education and the Founding Co-Director of the USC STEM Center. Through the STEM Center, Dr. Davis advances equity in STEM education by equipping educators with innovative tools, training, and research designed to inspire and prepare the next generation of diverse STEM leaders. His research focuses on the intersection of science, equity, and policy, with a particular emphasis on STEM education and workforce development in advanced technologies. By examining systemic barriers within education and workforce pipelines, Dr. Davis’s work highlights the disparities that affect access and success for traditionally marginalized populations in STEM fields. His scholarship has been published in leading journals, including the International Journal of STEM Education, Urban Education, and the Journal of Engineering Education, addressing critical topics such as organizational learning, STEM identity development and expression, and institutional policy responses to global events and external pressures.

Before co-founding the USC STEM Center, Dr. Davis conducted national assessments of higher education and K-12 climates, fostering cross-school collaborations to enhance STEM education. He also curated professional learning experiences for faculty and led initiatives on complex issues, including criminal justice reform prevention, aligning these efforts with broader goals of reducing educational barriers.

Dr. Davis’s work reaches far beyond USC through his leadership in various transformative roles. He leads technician training programs in partnership with the Micro Nano Technology Education Center at Pasadena City College, where he has supported the graduation of hundreds of students across more than 20 community college partners. These graduates have secured competitive internships in cutting-edge fields such as micro, nano, and biotechnology. This work received national acclaim in 2023, earning the Innovative Program Award from the High Impact Technology Exchange Conference (HI-TEC). As a Visiting Scholar at Loyola University Chicago, Dr. Davis co-leads educational research for the Illinois Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, an NSF-funded program aimed at increasing the representation of underrepresented students earning STEM degrees. Additionally, he advises graduate students, teaches courses, and serves as the evaluator for a neuroscience education initiative in partnership with Chicago Public Schools.

Dr. Davis’s expertise and leadership also extend to policy work. He served as a policy advisor in the U.S. Senate during his tenure as a 2018–2019 AAAS Science and Engineering Congressional Fellow through the American Educational Research Association. In this capacity, he contributed to shaping education and STEM policies at the national level. Before his time in Washington, D.C., he served as the inaugural STEM Director for the City of Philadelphia, advising two mayoral administrations on STEM education policy and serving on the Pennsylvania Governor’s STEM Advisory Board. In this role, he acted as Philadelphia’s liaison to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, helping to adapt national science and technology policy to meet local needs.

Internationally, Dr. Davis has contributed to K-12 STEM education development in Egypt, serving as a robotics education specialist for a USAID-funded project. His work has received funding and recognition from prominent organizations, including the Gates Foundation, the Dana Foundation, the Lumina Foundation, the Sloan Foundation, the Walmart Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Reflecting his commitment to community engagement, Dr. Davis serves on the boards of several STEM-focused nonprofit organizations.

Dr. Davis earned his Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Pennsylvania, where his dissertation, "Re-engineering Risk: A Portraiture of Black Undergraduate Engineering Persistence in Higher Education," explored the factors that contribute to the success of Black engineering students at highly selective and Predominantly White Institutions. He also holds master’s degrees in Robotics Engineering and Law from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Temple University. Dr. Davis was named a 2021 Emerging Scholar by DIVERSE: Issues in Higher Education magazine and recognized in 2023 as one of the 50 Great Engineers by Temple University’s College of Engineering.