Dr. Jerome E. Morris
Morris brings a deeply personal perspective to his leadership role, drawing from his experiences growing up in public housing and attending predominantly Black public schools in Birmingham, Alabama. His research examines the complex intersections of race, social class, and geography in educational opportunity, with a particular focus on the U.S. South.
"My background directly informs my work and my approach to educational research," said Morris. "I believe authentic partnerships with historically marginalized communities are essential to creating meaningful change in our educational systems."
Morris's election continues a significant trend of Black leadership within AERA, an organization that remained exclusively white for nearly eight decades after its founding in 1916. Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond became the first Black president of AERA in 1995-1996, breaking a 79-year pattern of white leadership at the association.
Since then, AERA has seen a remarkable transformation in its leadership diversity. Dr. Tyrone Howard, the former president, is among a notable lineage of Black scholars who have led the organization in recent years. Following Howard was Dr. Janelle Scott for the 2024-2025 term, and then Dr. Maisha T. Winn, who will serve in 2025-2026 before Morris assumes the presidency.
The shift represents a dramatic change for an organization that Dr. James Banks, the first Black man to lead AERA (1997-1998), described as "pretty lily white" during his tenure. "I worked hard to transform the organization," Banks told Diverse in an interview last year.
Morris's scholarly contributions include his latest book, Central City's Joy and Pain: Solidarity, Survival, and Soul in a Birmingham Housing Project, which combines historical analysis with memoir to document residents' efforts to sustain their community despite housing and educational inequities. His earlier work, Troubling the Waters: Fulfilling the Promise of Quality Public Schooling for Black Children, has been influential in educational research circles.
A former middle school teacher who founded a rites of passage program, Morris has been actively engaged with AERA since 1995. He was inducted as an AERA Fellow in 2022, served as Division G's vice-president from 2020-2023, and was elected to AERA's Executive Board.
Along with Morris, AERA members elected several other representatives to the Council, including Drs. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz (Teachers College, Columbia University) and Dawn Williams (Howard University) as Council Members-at-Large. Four researchers were also elected as division vice presidents-elect: Drs. Roland Sintos Coloma (Wayne State University), Yoon Pak (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Thandeka K. Chapman (University of California–San Diego), and Jennifer L. Whitson (Alexandria City Public Schools).
Last year, Dr. Shaun R. Harper, a former AERA president, told Diverse that he hopes the trend of diversification continues beyond Black leadership. "AERA needs and deserves more Asian American, Indigenous, and Latinx presidents," Harper said. "It's my hope that the Black presidential lineage inspires and expands further diversification at the association's highest leadership level."
AERA, founded in 1916, is the largest national research society focused on advancing knowledge about education, with approximately 25,000 members worldwide. This year's annual meeting will take place next month in Denver.
Morris will succeed Winn, who is the Excellence in Learning Graduate School of Education Professor at Stanford University and faculty director of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning's Equity in Learning initiative and was named one of Diverse's top 40 women in higher education in March 2025.
