Dr. Joyce E. King
FOUNDER

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.

Three of her 9 books are: We Be Lovin’ Black Children: Becoming Literate about the African Diaspora (with G. Boutte et al.); Heritage Knowledge in the Curriculum: Retrieving an African Episteme (with E. Swartz) and Black Education: A Transformative Research and Action Agenda for the New Century, which she organized for the American Educational Research Association. Her 70-plus publications appear in the Harvard Educational Review, the Journal of Negro Education, Journal of Black Studies, Educational Researcher, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, the Journal of African American History, and the International Journal of African Renaissance Studies.

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.

King has lectured in educational and community organizations in the United States, Brazil, Canada, China, France, England, Scotland, Mali, Kenya, 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.

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 historically 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.

She is past president of the American Educational Research Association, a member of the Institute for Food and Development Policy (FoodFirst.org) board of directors (www.foodfirst.org), a member of the National African American Reparations Commission (www.reparationscomm.org) and a Founding Community of Practice Member of Mi.Rialiti®, a platform for change agents improving civil society, equity and economy (https://mirialiti.com/). In 2018 Dr. King received Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education Alumni Excellence in Education Award.

Selected Publications

• Boutte, Gloria S., King, Joyce E., Johnson, George L., Jr., and King, LaGarrett J. We Be Lovin’ Black Children: Learning to be Literate About the African Diaspora. Myers Education Press, 2021.

• King, Joyce E., and Ellen E. Swartz. Heritage knowledge in the curriculum: Retrieving an African episteme. Routledge, 2018.

• King, Joyce E., and Ellen E. Swartz. Re-membering history in student and teacher learning: An Afrocentric culturally informed praxis. Routledge, 2014.

• King, Joyce E., ed. Black education: A Transformative Research and Action Agenda for the New Century. Routledge, 2006.

• Hollins, Etta R., Joyce Elaine King, and Warren C. Hayman, eds. Teaching diverse populations: Formulating a knowledge base. Vol. 1944. SUNY Press, 1994.

• Other Publications in the following: Harvard Educational Review, the Journal of Negro Education, Journal of Black Studies, Educational Researcher, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, the Journal of African American History, and the International Journal of African Renaissance Studies.

Selected Memberships & leadership

• American Educational Research Association: Past President

• Institute for Food and Development Policy (Food First) | Board of Directors

• Georgia State University, Department of Educational Policy Studies | Benjamin E. Mays Endowed Chair of Urban Teaching, Learning and Leadership

• National African American Reparations Commission | Former Member

• Mi.Rialiti® | Founding Community of Practice Member

• W.K. Kellogg Foundation | Fellowship recipient (Focus: women’s participation in grassroots social change movements in Africa, South America and France)

• Spelman College | Provost

• Medgar Evers College | Associate Provost

• The University of New Orleans | Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic and Diversity Affairs

• Mills College | Ethnic Studies Department Head

• Stanford University | Visiting Faculty Member

• Federal University of São Carlos | Visiting Faculty Member

Education

• Ph.D., Social Foundations of Education | Stanford University

• B.A., Sociology | Stanford University