Celebrate the National Day of Racial Healing with Dr. Julie Park

Hope in Challenging Times: How Higher Education Can Still Act to Address Race and Class

Higher education is experiencing an unprecedented assault on the ability of institutions to recruit and retain students from racially and economically diverse backgrounds. In this talk, Julie J. Park will share insights on the current political environment, including the effects of repressive legalism on higher education institutions and educators. She will help educators understand their continued rights and responsibilities to make higher education accessible for students from all backgrounds, despite the challenges of the current climate. 

Dr. Julie J. Park is professor of education at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research addresses racial equity in higher education, addressing the campus racial climate and college admissions. She also studies the complex ways that Asian Americans experience structural advantage and/or disadvantage in the realm of education. Her new book Race, Class, and Affirmative Action: College Admissions in a New Era (Harvard Education Press, 2026) addresses college admissions following the Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard, as well as current attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education. Her other books include Race on Campus: Debunking Myths with Data (Harvard Education Press, 2018), and When Diversity Drops: Race, Religion, and Affirmative Action in Higher Education (Rutgers University Press, 2013). She served as a consulting expert in the landmark lawsuit SFFA v. Harvard on the side of Harvard, and also co-directs the College Admissions Futures Co-Laborative (www.cafcolab.org). Born and raised in the Midwest, she earned her Ph.D. in Education from UCLA and B.A. from Vanderbilt University.