Demetri L. Morgan

Demetri L. Morgan, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Higher Education Program. Dr. Morgan's research agenda's driving thrust is exploring the relationship between postsecondary education institutions and political and democratic implications for minoritized groups. Accordingly, Dr. Morgan centers the pursuit of equity in all of his projects with a commitment to research and practice that cultivates moves towards realizing increased democratic engagement facilitated by postsecondary education institutions living more fully into their espoused missions.

To harken this reality, Dr. Morgan has four interrelated lines of inquiry around

student activism and political engagement;

culturally sustaining organizational governance;

the cultivation of inclusive campus climates,

socially responsible science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. As a qualitative structuralist, Dr. Morgan leverages organizational theories and qualitative or multiple-method research designs to pursue a range of sub-questions within these topics that highlight how people experience macro-systems, policies, and organizational cultures.

Dr. Morgan has published articles in the Review of Higher Education, the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, the Journal of College Student Development, and the Journal of Engineering Education. He co-edited a book, “Student activism, politics, and campus climate in higher education” in 2019. Dr. Morgan has also co-authored numerous book chapters on governance, campus climate, civic and political engagement, and race in higher education. In July 2017, Dr. Morgan launched the Diverse Democracy and Higher Education Project to provide accessible and timely resources that help institutions actualize their roles in a democracy. Dr. Morgan is also a co-founder of the Critical Higher Education Governance Collaborative and was recognized in 2019 as a fellow of the Place-Based Justice Network.