Royel M. Johnson, PhD

Royel M. Johnson is a nationally recognized scholar of higher education whose work centers system-impacted students—young people whose lives intersect the foster care, criminal legal, and housing systems—and the conditions that shape belonging, opportunity, and racial equity on college campuses. He is a tenured professor of education and social work at the University of Southern California, where he is a faculty member at the Pullias Center for Higher Education, Co-Editor of Educational Researcher—a leading interdisciplinary journal that shapes national conversations in education research and policy—and Co-Director of the Research Institute for Scholars of Equity (RISE).

Dr. Johnson's research program advances three interconnected strands. First, he examines how institutional policies, practices, and cultural norms shape access to opportunity, belonging, and student success in higher education, particularly for racially minoritized and system-impacted students. Second, he studies racial equity as an institutional and political project—how colleges and universities define, implement, resist, or reconfigure equity initiatives amid shifting policy landscapes and intensifying political backlash. Third, he advances theoretical and methodological tools, including socio-ecological and critical race mixed-methods approaches, for studying marginality in higher education.

He is the author and editor of four books and more than 60 peer-reviewed articles and chapters in leading journals. His sole-authored From Foster Care to College: Navigating Educational Challenges and Creating Possibilities (Teachers College Press) received the 2026 Outstanding Publication Award from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, and his forthcoming book The College–Prison Nexus (Harvard Education Press) extends his work on system-impacted students. He is also editor of The Big Lie About Race in America's Schools (Harvard Education Press), winner of the 2026 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award.

His scholarship has been supported by more than $6.5 million in grants and contracts from federal, state, and private funders, including the Institute of Education Sciences, the Spencer Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

For his contributions to research and practice, Dr. Johnson has received numerous honors, including the 2026 Trueba Award for Research Leading to the Transformation of the Social Contexts of Education from AERA Division G, the 2022 Division G Early Career Award, and the 2022 Outstanding Contribution to Multicultural Education and Research Award from ACPA. He was named a top diversity, equity, and inclusion visionary by the Los Angeles Times in both 2023 and 2024.

National and regional media outlets—including The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times, and Education Week—regularly seek his expertise. He is also the founding co-host and executive producer of the ASHE Presidential Podcast, which convenes leading scholars on equity, belonging, and the public purposes of higher education. A sought-after speaker and consultant, he works with colleges, universities, K–12 systems, foundations, and nonprofit organizations to translate research into policy and practice.

Dr. Johnson earned a BA in political science and an EdM in educational policy studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a PhD in higher education and student affairs, with a cognate in race and social policy, from The Ohio State University.

2026  Trueba Award for Research Leading to the Transformation of the Social  Contexts of Education, AERA Division G

2026  Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award

2026      NASPA Faculty Council Outstanding Publication Award

2024      Named DEIA Visionary by the Los Angeles Times

2024      USC Rossier School of Education Excellence in Research Award

2024       45th Pullias Distinguished Lecturer

2024       ACPA Diamond Honoree, Class of 2024

2023       Named DEIA Visionary by the Los Angeles Times

2023       Ohio State’s College of Education and Human Ecology’s New Leader   Award. 

2022    AERA Division G Early Career Award

2022    AERA Multicultural/Multiethnic Education SIG's Dr. Carlos J. Vallejo Memorial Award for Emerging Scholarship

2022    ACPA’s Outstanding Contribution to Multicultural Education and Research Award    

2021    Penn State College of Education Cotterill Leadership Enhancement Award

2021    NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow Semi-finalist 

2020    University of Illinois College of Education Young Alumni Award

2020    ACPA Emerging Scholar-Designee 

EDUC 728: Complexity of Educational Systems: Emerging Ideas, Emerging Markets

EDUC 617: Race, Racism and Education

EDUC 707: Administration in Higher Education

EDUC 653: Advanced Qualitative Research Methods

EDUC 683: ProSeminar in Urban Education Policy

• Johnson, R.M., Haynes, M.L., & Strayhorn, T.L. (2026). Signals of identity safety: How relational and curricular cues shape belonging for graduate students of color. American Behavioral Scientist.
• Johnson, R.M., Martin, M.M., Oduro, A., & Haynes, M. (2026). Evasion, protection, and conditionality: White staff narratives that uphold whiteness in higher education. The Journal of Higher Education.
• Johnson, R.M., DeCuir-Gunby, J.T., Kenney, A., & Lyons, T. (2025). Black student belonging in K–12 schools: Implications for policy and practice amid attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion. Social Issues and Policy Review.
• DeCuir-Gunby, J.T. & Johnson, R.M. (2025). A review of critical race methodology in education: Current trends and future directions. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences.
• Johnson, R.M., Oduro, A., & Duran, G. (2025). “Nothing will change”: Black staff counternarratives on anti-Black racism and DEI in higher education. The Journal of Higher Education.
• DeCuir-Gunby, J.T. & Johnson, R.M. (2025). Using critical race mixed methods to study multiply marginalized youth of color in schools. Journal of School Psychology.
• Johnson, R.M. & Kim, H. (2025). Effects of juvenile arrest on immediate college enrollment: Examining the role of race/ethnicity and parental education. The Journal of Higher Education.
• Strayhorn, T.L., Williams, M.S., & Johnson, R.M. (Eds.). (2024). Creating new possibilities for the future of HBCUs with research. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
• Johnson, R.M. & Harper, S.R. (Eds.). (2024). The big lie about race in America’s schools. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
• Johnson, R.M. (2024). From foster care to college: Navigating challenges and creating possibilities. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
• Taylor, L.D. & Johnson, R.M. (Eds.) (2022). Enacting student success: Critical and alternative perspectives for practice, New Directions for Higher Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.  
• Johnson, R.M. (2022) A socio-ecological perspective on sense of belonging among racially/ethnically minoritized college students: Implications for equity-minded practice and policy. In L.D. Taylor. & R.M. Johnson (Eds.), Enacting student success: Critical and alternative perspectives for practice, New Directions for Higher Education (pp. 59-68). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• Lewis, M.A., Modeste, M.E., & Johnson, R.M. (2023). The rise of school district Chief Equity Officers: Moving beyond mimetic isomorphismand promoting anti-racist systemic change. Education Administration Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X231153404
• Johnson, R. M., & Strayhorn, T. L. (2022). Examining race and racism in Black men doctoral student socialization: A critical race mixed methods analysis. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.
• Johnson, R.M., Anya, U., & Garces, L.M. (Eds.) (2022). Racial equity on college campuses: Connecting research and practice. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
• Brown, N. P., Johnson, R.M., & Strayhorn, T.L., Pagoto, S., Waring, M.E.,Palmer, L., Lewis, K.A., & Workman, D. (2022). Psychosocial impacts of #BlackLivesMatter protests and police killings on undergraduate students in STEM. Teachers College Record.  
• López, F.A., Johnson, R.M. Ward, L.A., & Patterson, A.N. (2021) How do education researchers contest the anti-Critical Race Theory propaganda? Teachers College Record. https://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=23865
• Savage, S.S., Johnson, R.M., Kenney, A.J., & Haynes, D.D. (2021) Perspectives on conducting humanizing and liberatory qualitative research with racially minoritized youth. Health Care, 9(10), 317. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9101317
• Johnson, R.M. & *Dizon, J.P. (2021). Toward a conceptualization of the college-to-prison nexus. Peabody Journal of Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/0161956X.2021.1991692
• Johnson, R.M. (2021). Academic resilience among Black male college students formerly in foster care: Implications for school counselors. Professional School Counseling Journal, 25(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X211040003
• López, F., Molnar, A., Johnson, R.M., Ward, L.A, Patterson, A.N., & Kumashiro, K. (2021). Understanding the attacks on Critical Race Theory. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center.
• Johnson, R.M. (2021). Black youth in foster care and the school-prison nexus. Feature: The community college context. Champaign, IL: Office of Community College Research and Leadership. https://doi.org/ 10.13140/RG.2.2.16430.43843/2
• Johnson, R.M. & Davis, J.E. (2021). Advancing racial equity in education in the carceral state. Peabody Journal of Education. 96(5), 491-493 https://doi.org/10.1080/0161956X.2021.2016101
• Johnson, R.M., Alvarado, R.E., & Rosinger, K.O. (2021). What’s the “problem” of considering criminal history in college admissions? A critical analysis of “Ban the Box” policies in Louisiana and Maryland. Journal of Higher Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2020.1870849
• Johnson, R.M. (2021). The state of research on undergraduate youth formerly in foster care: A systematic review of literature. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 14(1), 147-160. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000150
• Dowd, A. & Johnson, R.M. (2020). Why do systematic review?: A reader’s and editor’s perspective. In O. Zawacki-Richter, S.B. Kerres, M. Bond, & K. Buntiens (Eds.), Systematic reviews in educational research: Methodology, perspectives and application (pp. 69-87). Wiesbaden, Germany: Springer, VS.
• Johnson, R.M., Strayhorn, T.L., & Parler, B.A. (2020). “I just want to be a regular kid:” A qualitative study of sense of belonging high school youth in high school in foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104832
• Johnson, R.M. (2020). Five things student affairs professionals can do to support justice-involved college students. Washington, DC: NASPA. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.26238.61765
• Oseguera, L., Park, H, J., De Los Rios, M.J., Aparicio, E., & Johnson, R.M. (2019). Examining the role of scientific identity in Black student retention in a STEM scholar program. Journal of Negro Education, 88(33), 229-248. https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroeducation.88.3.0229
• Johnson, R.M., Strayhorn, T.L., & Travers, C.S. (2019). Exploring the academic advising experiences of Black males at an urban university: An exploratory case study. Urban Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085919894048
• Johnson, R.M. & Strayhorn, T.L. (2019). Preparing youth in foster care for college through an early outreach program. Journal of College Student Development, 60(5), 612-616. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2019.0051
• Johnson, R.M. (2015). Measuring the influence of juvenile arrest on the odds of four-year college enrollment for Black males: An NLSY analysis. Spectrum: A Journal on Black Men, 4(1), 49-72. https://doi.org/10.2979/spectrum.4.1.04
• Strayhorn, T.L., & Johnson, R.M. (2014). Why are all the White students sitting together in college? Impact of Brown v. Board of Education on cross-racial interactions among Blacks and Whites. Journal of Negro Education, 83(3), 385-399. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7709/jnegroeducation.88.3.0229
• Strayhorn, T.L., & Johnson, R.M. (2014). Toward a model of professional identity: A preliminary study of Black men. The NASAP Journal, 15(2), 59-74.
• Strayhorn, T.L., & Johnson, R.M. (2014). Black female community college students’ satisfaction: A national regression analysis. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 38, 1-17.  https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2013.866060
• Johnson, R. M. (2013). Black and male on campus: An autoethnographic account. Journal of African American Men in Education, 4(2), 25-45.
• Strayhorn, T.L., Johnson, R.M., & Barrett, B.A. (2013). Investigating the adjustment and transition experiences of formerly incarcerated African American males at PWIs. Spectrum: A Journal on Black Men, 2(1), 73-98. https://doi.org/10.2979/spectrum.2.1.73

Associate Professor (tenured), USC Rossier School of Education, 2022–present

Associate Professor (joint appointment), USC Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, 2022–present

Faculty Member, Pullias Center for Higher Education, USC, 2022–present

Co-Director, Research Institute for Scholars of Equity (RISE), 2021–present

Co-Editor, Educational Researcher, AERA, 2023–present

Assistant/Associate Professor, Education Policy Studies, Penn State, 2017–2021

Current Research Initiatives:

• JusticeReFramed — A Russell Sage Foundation–funded digital storytelling intervention designed to reduce stigma toward justice-impacted individuals and strengthen institutional responses to criminal legal system involvement.

• California Black-Serving Institution Designation Project — Research examining the development, implementation, and policy implications of a statewide Black-Serving Institution designation in California higher education.

• Youth Homelessness Systems Improvement (YHSI) Initiative — A Los Angeles County–funded initiative (Department of Homeless Services and Housing), based at the USC Homeless Policy Research Institute, co-leading a countywide needs assessment on housing stability, mental health access, and cross-system service coordination for transition-age youth experiencing homelessness.

• FosterEd College Navigator — An Amazon Web Services–funded project developing an AI-supported college navigation and advising tool for young people with foster care experience in California.

Principal Investigator or Co-PI on grants and contracts exceeding $6.5 million

Active

• Youth Homeless System Improvement (YHSI) Needs Assessment. Los Angeles County Department of Homeless Services and Housing. Co-PI. $174,877. 2026–2027.
• JusticeReFramed: Reducing Stigma Through Digital Storytelling. Russell Sage Foundation. Co-PI. $196,205. 2026–2028.
• FosterEd College Navigator. Amazon Web Services Education Equity Initiative. PI. $45,000. 2026–2027.
• The Research Institute for Scholars of Equity (RISE). Institute of Education Sciences. Co-PI. $1,533,384. 2021–2026.

Selected Completed

• Expanding Criminal Justice Reform Critical Policy Research. Walmart Foundation. Co-PI. $1,000,000. 2024–2025.
• Ed Equity Research and Policy Collaborative. Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Co-PI. $250,000. 2021–2022.
• Translating Critical Race Research for Evidenced-Based Policymaking. Spencer Foundation. Co-PI. $50,000. 2021–2022.
• Measuring the Varying Effects of Juvenile Arrest on College Enrollment. AERA/NSF. PI. $35,000. 2022–2024.
• Envisioning Racial Equity on College Campuses. Spencer Foundation. PI. $50,000. 2018–2019.
• Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center Program. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Co-PI. ~$3.2M. 2019–2021.