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 special distinction bestowed only to 30 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. He is on the faculties of the USC Rossier School of Education, Marshall School of Business, and Price School of Public Policy. Dr. Harper has published 14 books and is author of more than 125 peer-reviewed articles and other academic publications. He is recipient of dozens of top awards in his fields and six 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. He has been elected national president of two major professional associations and is a National Academy of Education inductee.

A prolific and energizing speaker on a range of contemporary topics, Shaun has delivered hundreds of keynote addresses around the world, many to audiences comprised of thousands. In his 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 consultants. His smart, yet plainspoken and practically-useful style differentiates him from most academicians. He has testified four times 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 important public service roles. He also has written over 150 articles for major newspapers and magazines, including The Washington Post, Forbes, Rolling Stone, and the Los Angeles Times. He also has been interviewed on CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, PBS NewsHour, and NPR.

Dr. Harper has worked with dozens of intercollegiate athletics departments as well as professional sports leagues and teams, including the National Football League, Major League Baseball, WNBA, Major League Soccer, and the National Women’s Soccer League. He served three years on the University of Southern California’s Oversight Committee for Athletic Academic Affairs, including one term as its chair. His center at USC was chosen as the inclusion strategy architect and implementation partner for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympic games in Los Angeles.

Shaun’s 14 books include Scandals in College Sports. In Spring 2027, Harvard Education Press is publishing his new book on name, image, and likeness in intercollegiate athletics. The four editions of his report on Black male student-athletes and racial inequities in NCAA Division I sports have been downloaded nearly 800,000 times from his center’s website. He has been featured in two sports documentaries and has taught courses on college student-athletes and on athletics administration at the University of Pennsylvania, Indiana University, and USC.