Roseann Liu is an assistant professor of educational studies and Asian American studies at Swarthmore College. She is a scholar of race, education inequality, and social justice.
Liu is the recipient of fellowships and grants from the National Academy of Education, Spencer Foundation, American Educational Research Association, and Wenner-Gren Foundation.
She attended NYC public schools and taught in the school system she graduated from. When she moved to Philadelphia (or what her mom referred to as “that little village”), she worked as an education policy and evaluation researcher and visited a wide range of schools. Though it took a while, she now considers Philly her adopted hometown and is ride or die for “that little village.”
These experiences have shaped her scholarship in important ways. First, she studies issues that matter to everyday people—issues that get talked about around the kitchen table. Second, her scholarship is informed by collaboration with people and a deep understanding of place. Third, she writes and communicates in ways that are broadly accessible to non-academic audiences. Her engaged and public scholarship has appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, WHYY/NPR, Colorlines, and Hechinger Report. She has produced short films and worked with other forms of media to communicate and disseminate ideas.
Liu received her B.S. in early childhood and elementary education from New York University, an M.Ed. in education leadership and policy from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a joint Ph.D. in anthropology and education from the University of Pennsylvania.