T. Elon Dancy II is the Helen S. Faison Endowed Chair and Executive Director of the Center for Urban Education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. Dr. Dancy’s major fields of interest are Black intellectual thought, men and masculinities, structural oppression, and related schooling and higher education issues. This scholarly agenda largely draws upon Black knowledge traditions and critical theories to examine education settings as sites of struggle and aspiration, with a focus on Black American populations. He is highly regarded for his studies of Black masculinity and patriarchy in postsecondary contexts, anti-Blackness in higher education, and political economies of education. Dr. Dancy’s projects are supported by collaborative local relationships listed here, and he has received over five million dollars in funding at the University of Pittsburgh for his scholarly projects from several foundations and agencies including the Spencer Foundation, National Science Foundation, Heinz Endowments, Mellon Foundation, Grable Foundation, and the McElhattan Foundation.

Dr. Dancy is the author or co-author of nearly 100 journal articles, book chapters, monographs, and publications related to education and society. His six books include The Brother Code: Manhood and Masculinity among African American Men in College (2012), African American Males and Education: Researching the Convergence of Race and Identity (2012) (with M. Christopher Brown II), Educating African American Males: Challenges of Context, Possibilities for Practice (2013) (with M. Christopher Brown II and James Earl Davis), Black Male Collegians: Increasing Access, Retention, and Persistence in Higher Education (2014) (with Robert Palmer, J. Luke Wood, and Terrell Strayhorn), and Black Colleges across the Diaspora: Global Perspectives on Race and Stratification (2017) (with M. Christopher Brown II).