Welcoming Traci Dennis

The Department of Secondary Education is thrilled to welcome Assistant Professor Traci Dennis to our team! Dr. Dennis brings a strong record of teaching and leadership experience in underfunded PK-12 schools. Through teaching and scholarship, she aims to support teachers in translating antiracist theories into practice in PK-12 schools, classrooms, and curriculum. As Principal Investigator on a Gates-funded grant with the Antiracist Research & Policy Center, founded by Dr. Ibram Kendi, she codeveloped an antiracist teaching curriculum that was piloted in Summer 2021 with public-school teachers, with the goal of building a more antiracist teacher and leader workforce. Dr. Dennis presents her work at local, national, and international conferences and has been published in Education Week, the Journal of Negro Education and the Journal of Education and Social Justice. Her recent publications include a co-authored chapter in Antiracist Counseling in Schools and Communities and an Education Week opinion article: How to Train an Anti-Racist Teacher: 9 Practical Takeaways (Opinion) (edweek.org). Dr. Dennis will be a tremendous asset to the department, college, and university!