Policy Experts Discuss Past, Present and Future of Education in America
The GW Hatchet published a recap of GSEHD's event, "Education Policy and Political Will in Our Multiracial Democracy: Kerner 56 Years Later."
Dr. Dwayne Kwaysee Wright
Dr. Dwayne Kwaysee Wright
Assistant Professor, Higher Education Administration; Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives
School: Graduate School of Education and Human Development
Department: Educational Leadership, Cross-Disciplinary
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Dr. Dwayne Kwaysee Wright
Dr. Dwayne Kwaysee Wright is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration and GSEHD Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives at the George Washington University (GW). His research and social activism seek to advance educational opportunity and equity for all students, particularly those historically oppressed and marginalized in American society.
Dr. Wright’s research is located within three broad theoretical frameworks: Critical Race Theory, Sociocultural Theory and Critical Pedagogy. His areas of empirical research interest include access, diversity, and equity policies for underserved populations in higher education; the use and influence of social science research in/on law; undergraduate and professional Multicultural Greek Life; and critical race theory & critical pedagogy in post-secondary education. His legal research interest focuses primarily on education law, First Amendment jurisprudence and American equal protection theory.
Dr. Wright joined GW’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development after serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Savannah Law School in Georgia where he taught Constitutional Law. He holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the Penn State University. His dissertation focused on the influence of diversity and inclusion on the culture of learning and living in law schools, particularly for marginalized/minoritized law students. The dissertation was awarded the Dr. Marcia Clarke-Yapi Memorial Award which is given for having the highest quality dissertation dealing with research in equity issues in education.
Furthermore, Dr. Wright is currently the National Coordinator for the Council on Legal Education Opportunity’s “Legally Inspired Cohort” (CLIC) program. The CLIC is a program focused on increasing minoritized student access to law school. The program is designed to test the hypothesis that minoritized law students are more likely to succeed if they are prepared and provided a welcoming and supportive community.
Dr. Wright is currently licensed to practice law in New York and New Jersey.
MBA, George Washington University
Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management, George Washington University
Ph.D. in Higher Education, Pennsylvania State University
J.D., Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law
Master's in Education, Pennsylvania State University
B.A. in Political Science, Norfolk State University
- Academic Freedom
- American University as a Non-Profit Corporation
- College Student Development
- Comparative Affirmative Action Policy
- Comparative Immigration Law
- Conflict of Laws
- Constitutional Law
- Critical Analysis of Higher Education Policy
- Experimental Educational Philosophy
- Critical Race Theory
- Education Law (K-12)
- Equal Protection & Substantive Due Process
- First Amendment- Free Speech
- Freedom of Speech for Corporations
- Higher Education as a Service Export
- Higher Education Legal Issues
- Law, Education and Sexuality
- Multicultural Greek Life in Higher Education
- Organization and Governance of the Public Research University
- Race Conscious College Admissions
- Sociocultural Theory and Student Affairs Practice
- Title IX and its application to Higher Education beyond Sports
Select Articles
Wright, D., Muñiz, R., & Keffer, S. (2023). The walking dead: how the logic of Plessy v. Ferguson is preserved in equal protection law in the 21st Century. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 1-19.
Wright, D., & Derreth, R. T. (2022). Metaphor for a Post-White Horizon, Journal of Black Educology, 1(1), 77-110.
Muñiz, R., Wright, D., Alvarado, R. E., Miller, V., & McGrew, J. (2020). Joint Identities?: A Self-Case Study of the Professional Identity Development of JD/Ph. D. Professionals in Education Law. Journal of Law and Education, 49, 393.
Book Chapters
Wright, D. & Feuer, M. (2024). Action to Reaffirm: Equity, Racial Justice, and the Future of College Admissions. In A. Curtis (Ed.). Creating Justice in a Multiracial Democracy. Teachers College Press.
Wright, D. & Garces, L. (2018). Understanding the controversy around race-based affirmative action in American higher education. In J. Blanchard (Ed.). Controversies on Campus: Debating the Issues Confronting American Universities in the 21st Century (pp. 3-21). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
Presentations
Wright, Dwayne (2024, April) Avoiding the Hunger Games: How Professional Schools Can Commit to Racial Justice Post-Affirmative Action; 2024 American Education Research Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Wright, Dwayne (2024, April) Division I Vice Presidential Invited Speaker Session: Building Bridges, Lifting Each Other Up, and Moving Forward; 2024 American Education Research Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Wright, Dwayne (2024, April) Painful Truths, Radical Humility, and Researcher Vulnerability: Writing on Racism Within Cross-Racial Research Teams; 2024 American Education Research Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Wright, Dwayne (2023, October) Avoiding the Hunger Games: How Professional Schools Can Commit to Racial Justice Post Affirmative Action; 69th Annual Education Law Association Conference, Reno, NV.
Wright, Dwayne (2023, May) Blackness as “Debt’: Excavating the Racial Economy of ‘Merit’ Devaluing Black Professional School Faculty; 2023 American Education Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
Wright, Dwayne (2023, April) Educating the "Most Special Nation in the History of the World": A Critical Policy Analysis; 2023 American Education Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
Wright, Dwayne (2023, March) A Dialogue Circle: What is hate speech? What should GW do about it? Who decides? with Christy Anthony, GW Director of Student Rights & Responsibilities; 8th Annual George Washington University Diversity Summit.
Wright, Dwayne (2022, June) DEI in Training, Professional and Faculty Development: A Literature Review; 34th Annual National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in Higher Education, Portland, OR.
Wright, Dwayne (2022, April) Critically Rethinking the Concept of Critical Mass; 2022 American Education Research Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.
Wright, Dwayne (2022, April) Assaultive Speech on Campus and Insufficient Campus Responses: Now It's Time for Meaningful Change (Session Chair); 2022 American Education Research Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.
Wright, Dwayne (2022, April) Distancing Ourselves from The Distractions: Affirmative Action, Critical Race Theory, and What We Really Should Be Talking About if We Want More Equitable Schools with Dr. Prudence L. Carter, Professor of Sociology at Brown University; 2022 American Education Research Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.
Wright, Dwayne (2022, January) Hate speech, Critical Race Theory bans, and Affirmative Action on college campuses; 2022 University of San Francisco Law Review Symposium.
Wright, Dwayne (2021, November) The Walking Dead: How the Logic of Plessy Is Preserved in Law and Education Policy Today; 2021 University Council for Educational Administration Annual Convention, Columbus, OH.
Wright, Dwayne (2021, October) Metaphor For Facing a Post-Whiteness Horizon; 2021 Critical Race Studies in Education Association Annual National Conference, Newark, DE.
Wright, Dwayne (2021, October) Judicial Epistemic Injustice; Class Action Lawsuits for Refunds after UC COVID-19 Closures; 67th Annual Education Law Association Conference, San Antonio, TX.
Wright, Dwayne (2021, August) Addressing Microaggressions in Academia; PhD. Project Information Systems Faculty Alumni Association 2021 Virtual Conference.
Wright, Dwayne (2021, April) Class Action Lawsuits for Refunds after COVID-19 Closures; 2021 American Education Research Association Virtual Annual Meeting.
Wright, Dwayne (2020, November) Participated in Social Justice & Education Law Panel; 66th Annual Education Law Association Conference.
Wright, Dwayne (2020, January) Sex Without FEAR: HIV Decriminalization on College Campuses in the era of the Undetectable; George Washington University We’re Still Here: LGTBQIA+ Health and Advocacy Conference, Washington, D.C.
Wright, Dwayne (2019, November) Joint Identities? A Qualitative Case Study of the Professional Identity Development for Minoritized J.D./Ph.D. Professionals; 65th Annual Education Law Association Conference, Norfolk, VA.
Wright, Dwayne (2019, May) Rewriting the Regents of University of California v. Bakke decision from a Critical Race Perspective; 2019 Critical Race Studies in Education Association Annual National Conference, Los Angeles, CA.
Wright, Dwayne (2019, March) Reframing the Argument, Reforming the Mission: State Bans on Affirmative Action as a Violation of the First Amendment; Fourth National People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference, Washington, D.C.
Wright, Dwayne (2018, November) Joint Identities? A Qualitative Case Study of the Professional Identity Development for Minoritized JD/PhD professionals; 64th Annual Education Law Association Conference, Cleveland, OH.
- May 2024 - Dr. Dwayne Wright was a panelist in the 2nd Convening: Enhancing Access and Resources for Displaced Students at GW, hosted by The Refugee Educational Advancement Lab (REAL) and No Lost Generation (NLG). Dr. Wright reminded the audience of the urgency of getting involved during turbulent times for displaced students: "In 10 years from now, 20 years from now, we would either be proud of what we’re doing, or we will regret what we did." He also challenged everyone to look beyond artificial boundaries and truly connect, asking how we can better understand each other as people rather than through imposed labels or divisions. Review some recommended resources from the event.
- December 2024 - Dean Michael Feuer and Dr. Dwayne Wright had a book chapter published in Creating Justice in a Multiracial Democracy: New Will for Evidence-Based Policies That Work, which was recently published by Teachers College Press. Their chapter is titled, "Action to Reaffirm: Equity, Racial Justice, and the Future of College Admissions."
- September 2024 - Dr. Dwayne Wright participated in the National Association of College and University Attorneys online symposium, Free Speech and Academic Freedom on Campus: Recent Challenges and Opportunities (and accompanying fall special issue of the Journal of College and University Law).
- August 2024 - Dr. Dwayne Wright has been awarded GW University Seminar funding, in collaboration with colleagues from the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, for the academic year 2024-25 for a project entitled, "Intersectional Masculinities: At the Junction of Multiculturalism and Patriarchy."
- April 2024 - Dr. Dwayne Wright has been appointed to the university's Campus Safety Advisory Committee. The committee, chaired by the Vice President for Safety and Facilities, includes members representing the on-campus populations of students, faculty, and staff as well as university leadership and a neighborhood community member. Members serve an important role in identifying and highlighting positive safety practices as well as concerns and challenges on GW’s campuses.
- March 2024 - Dr. Dwayne Wright published an op-ed in The GW Hatchet titled, "Strengthening GW's community requires moral courage."
- November 2023 - Dr. Dwayne Wright presented a paper titled, "Blackness As Debt: Examining Institutional Practices Devaluing Black Professional School Faculty," along with Dr. Tyler Derreth from John Hopkins University at the "Virtual Day" of the Association for the Study of Higher Education 2023 conference.
- October 31, 2023 - Dr. Dwayne Wright presented at the 69th Education Law Association Conference in Reno, Nevada. He discussed the topic, "Judicial Arrogance, Epistemic Injustice, and the Overturning of Affirmative Action," as part of the annual Social Justice and Education Law Panel.
- July 12, 2023 - Dr. Dwayne Wright was quoted in the Capital B article, "How Black College Students in Atlanta Are Reacting to Affirmative Action Ruling." In addition, Dr. Wright was quoted in nerdwallet.com's article, "Affirmative Action Ruling Could Impact Minority Scholarships."
- June 29, 2023 - Dr. Dwayne Wright was interviewed for the TV segment, "Supreme Court outlaws consideration of race as a factor in college admissions."
- June 28, 2023 - Dr. Dwayne Wright was interviewed as part of GW's "3 Questions" video series about the Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action in college admissions.
- June 27, 2023 - Dr. Dwayne Wright participated in an Academic Engagement Network (AEN) initiative which brought university administrators from the U.S. to tour Israel and the West Bank in June to educate them about Jewish identity, antisemitism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The trip marked the end of a yearlong program, AEN's Signature Seminar Series, in which participants learned about these and other issues.
- April 24, 2023 - Dr. Dwayne Wright published an op-ed in The GW Hatchet titled, "GW should not embrace the disease of guns as the only cure for gun violence."
- March 2023 - Dr. Dwayne Wright presented a virtual session at the 2023 National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Annual Conference. The title of the presentation was, "How U.S. Higher Education Institutions Have Become the Colonizers of Free Speech." He presented with Dr. Branden D. Elmore, a Postdoctoral Associate in the Center for Diversity & Inclusion in Higher Education at the University of Maryland.
- June 2020 - Dr. Dwayne Kwaysee Wright was interviewed on the Moses's People Speak podcast for Episode 9 called "Discussing Race in America." The topic of the discussion was "What we should learn from the Amy Cooper video."
Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education Administration
Our new Social Justice concentration in the Master's of Higher Ed Administration prepares students to advance equity and advocate for marginalized communities.
GW Professor Warns of Dire Impact of Laws Targeting LGBTQ Community
Dwayne Wright said a mental health crisis is unfolding in America as regressive laws targeting the LGBT community fuel hate and division.
Q & A: New Program in Higher Ed Administration Highlights Social Justice Concentration
GSEHD is offering a new master’s program in higher education administration with a concentration on social justice.
A Review of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Impact on Higher Education Law {Recording}
Dr. Wright highlights the impact of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg on higher education law through detailing five cases from her career.