Shaun Harper, Ph.D. is the Clifford and Betty Allen Chair in Urban Leadership at the University of Southern California. In 2022, he was appointed University Professor, a distinction bestowed only to 27 of 4,700 full-time USC faculty members. He also is one of 14 Provost Professors, an elite cadre of interdisciplinary scholars who hold joint appointments in two or more academic schools at the University. He is on the faculties of the USC Rossier School of Education, USC Marshall School of Business, and USC Price School of Public Policy. Dr. Harper has published 13 books and is author of more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and other academic publications. He is recipient of dozens of top awards in his fields and four honorary degrees. Prior to joining the USC faculty in 2017, he spent a decade at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a tenured full professor. The center he founded at Penn in 2011 is now the USC Race and Equity Center; Harper continues to serve as its chief executive officer.

A prolific and energizing speaker on a range of diversity, equity and inclusion [DEI] topics, Shaun has delivered hundreds of keynote addresses around the world, many to audiences comprised of thousands. In his DEI strategy work with companies and institutions, Dr. Harper prioritizes people, systems, structures, policies, accountability, and sustainability. Evidence-based approaches to organizational change distinguish him from most other DEI consultants. His smart, yet plainspoken and practically-useful style differentiates him from most academicians. He has testified twice to the U.S. House of Representatives, spoken at numerous White House and federal agency convenings, and been appointed by two U.S. presidents and a California governor to significant leadership roles. He has written over 125 articles for major newspapers and magazines. In 2023, the Los Angeles Times featured Dr. Harper as one of 111 DEI leaders across industries whose work drives change in the nation’s second-largest city.