Dr. Christopher B. Knaus, the founding director of the Doctorate (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership Program, currently serves as Professor of Education at the University of Washington Tacoma. As a race scholar, critical race theory practitioner, educator, and community advocate, Dr. Knaus conducts research and hands-on projects that examine the local and global impact of school systems and related policies on communities of color.
Dr. Knaus additionally works to foster urban educational leadership pathways, including developing teacher of color preparation and support programs in partnership with community-based organizations. At the core of community and systems transformation, Dr. Knaus centers critically conscious urban youth voice as a way to help educators create inclusive, challenging classrooms and schools that arm children to transform the immediate world they live into a world where addressing social inequalities becomes the purpose of education. Dr. Knaus served as a Fulbright Scholar to South Africa, where he maintains active research studies examining post-apartheid educational policy and practice. In addition to numerous articles and books about racism in education, Dr. Knaus has taught classes in high schools in Seattle, Oakland and Berkeley, CA, and has spoken globally about the silencing impacts of schooling on children of color.
Dr. Knaus' most recent book (co-authored with M. Christopher Brown II) is called "Whiteness is the New South Africa: Qualitative Research on Post-Apartheid South Africa," published by Peter Lang.