Dr. Royel Johnson named as Co-Editor of AERA’s Educational Researcher Journal

Dr. Royel Johnson, USC Rossier School of Education Associate Professor and Pullias Center faculty member, has been named as a co-editor of Educational Researcher (ER), the journal of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). His appointment is for the 2024-2026 editorial team.

“I am deeply honored by the opportunity to lead one of the nation’s most influential education journals,” stated Dr. Johnson. “As co-editor, I look forward to collaborating with colleagues to build upon ER’s strong legacy of publishing transformative and cross-cutting research.”

Dr. Johnson is a nationally-recognized expert on college access, student success, as well as campus climate and culture change for racial equity in higher education. Johnson is a productive scholar with over 50 publications, including articles in leading journals such as the Journal of Higher Education, Teachers College Record, and Peabody Journal of Education. He has also edited three books: Racial Equity on College Campuses: Connecting Research and Practice, Enacting Student Success: Critical and Alternative Perspectives for Practice, and Creating New Possibilities for the Future of HBCUs with Research. He has garnered more than $5.3 million in grants and contracts from federal, state, and private funders. A highly-sought after speaker and consultant, Johnson has delivered more than 100 invited talks for college campuses, companies, and other organizations. Dr. Johnson joined Rossier and the Pullias faculty in 2021.

Dr. Johnson and his co-editors will begin receiving new manuscripts on October 1, 2023.

“Conducting transformational research that promotes educational equity is at the heart of USC Rossier’s mission. Royel Johnson embodies that mission through his work, and we are deeply proud of him for being named co-editor of AERA’s influential Education Researcher journal. Royel will play an instrumental role on a national stage publishing cutting-edge research that drives the education community forward. The entire USC Rossier community congratulates Royel Johnson on this well-deserved honor,” said USC Rossier Dean Pedro Noguera.

Educational Researcher is AERA’s premier journal, reaching widely across education research and aligned fields by publishing original research from multiple disciplines, theoretical orientations, and methodologies. ER offers broad accessibility for major programmatic research and new findings of general significance to the education research community. More information about the new Eduational Researcher editorial team can be found here.