Education:

• Ph.D; Education Policy; University of Georgia
• MSPP; Public Policy; Georgia Institute of Technology
• MA; Political Science; Washington University in St. Louis
• MA; Globalization Studies; Dartmouth College
• BSFS; International Politics; Georgetown University

Background:

Dr. Kendall Deas is an Assistant Professor of Education Policy, Law, and Politics with the African American Studies Department in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Deas specializes in education policy, law, and politics. He received his Ph.D. in education policy from the University of Georgia’s Mary Frances Early College of Education. He holds a BSFS degree in international politics and a Certificate in Western European Studies from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, a M.A. degree in globalization studies from Dartmouth College’s Frank J. Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, a M.A. degree in political science from Washington University in St. Louis, and a MSPP degree in public policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Public Policy. Dr Deas was an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow in public policy at Harvard’s University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and the University of Texas at Austin’s Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. He was a Fulbright Scholar to Finland where he earned a Diploma in International Trade Law from Turku International University’s School of Law and was a one-year Visiting Student at Mansfield College, Oxford University where he studied politics, philosophy, and economics. Dr. Deas is an Emerging Diversity Scholar and a New Leadership Academy (NLA) Fellow for higher education leadership with the University of Michigan’s National Center for Institutional Diversity (NCID).  He is a recipient of the University of South Carolina’s 2023 MLK Social Justice Award for his research on improving public education and public education advocacy in South Carolina as a co-founder and Director of the Quality Education Project. Dr. Deas is a member of the Faculty Editorial Board for the peer-reviewed academic journal Education Law & Policy Review. He served from 2021 to 2024 as Treasurer and Vice President of the University of South Carolina’s Postdoctoral Association.

Academic and Professional Awards:

• Fulbright Scholar; Turku; Finland; Turku International University’s School of Law; Awarded a Diploma in International Trade Law.
• Recipient of the College of Charleston’s 2016 EXCEL Awards for Outstanding Faculty of the Year for the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance and the Honors College; March 2016.
• Recipient of the University of South Carolina’s 2023 MLK Social Justice Award for research on improving public education and advocacy for greater investment in public education in South Carolina as a Co-Founder and Director of the Quality Education Project.
• Departmental Recipient of the 2013 Faculty Scholar Award; Educational Administration and Policy Program; Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy; University of Georgia’s Mary Frances Early College of Education.
• 2023 Mellon Civic Engagement and Voting Rights Teacher Scholar; One of sixteen scholars selected nationally for a summer-institute and 3-year initiative with stipend support hosted by Clemson University and funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation with a cohort of national scholars focused upon improving civic engagement and voting rights education in higher education curriculum.
• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; APPAM Fellow in Public Policy; University of Texas at Austin’s Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
• New Leadership Academy (NLA Fellow); University of Michigan’s National Center for Institutional Diversity (NCID); 2015-2016.
• NCID Emerging Diversity Scholar; University of Michigan’s National Center for Institutional Diversity (NCID); 2015-2016.
• Selected for the Faculty National Science Foundation (NSF) Track; 2022-2023 Propel Research Mentorship Program; Office of the Vice President for Research; University of South Carolina.
• Selected as a 2024-2025 Propel AI Scholar; Propel Artificial Intelligence (AI) Program; Office of the Vice President for Research; University of South Carolina.
•  Awarded Letter and Certificate of Commendation for Outstanding Teaching; University of South Carolina’s Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE); Spring 2024.  

Selected Publications:

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles:

• Deas, K. (March 2022). “Legal Implications of Race-Based School Funding Policies to Close Racial Achievement Gaps in Education.” Journal of Education & Social Policy; Vol. 9; No. 1; New York: Center for Promoting Ideas.
• Deas, K. (January 2022). “EPSCOR: State Science and Technology-Based Economic Development Policies and the Role of Higher Education Institutions.” International Journal of Humanities and Social Science; Vol. 11, No. 8; New York: Center for Promoting Ideas.
• Deas, K. (December 2018). “Evaluating Common Core: Are Uniform Standards a Silver Bullet for Educational Reform?” The Journal of Educational Foundations; Vol. 31, Nos. 3&4, Fall/Winter 2018, San Francisco: Caddo-Gap Press.
• Cozzens, S.E., Bobb, K., Deas, K., George, A., and Ordonez, G. (2005). “Distributional Effects of Triple Helix Strategies at State Level in the U.S.” Science and Public Policy; Vol. 32, No. 1, February 2005; Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Deas, K, Hale, J.N. and Clemons, K. (under review). “Something Inside So Strong: How the Historic Freedom School Program Can Sustain Liberatory Praxis in Today’s Schools,” Education Policy Analysis Archives, Vol. 31, No. 2, Freedom Schools will be published in November 2024 by British Journal of Educational Policy.
• Deas, K. and Hale, J.N. (under review). “Anti-Racist Strategies and Their Impact on Public Education Advocacy: Quality Education Project as a Case Study,” Special Issue: The Impact of Anti-Racism Efforts in Organizations and Communities; Currents: Journal of Diversity Scholarship for Social Change; Vol. 3, No. 1, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
• Deas, K. (October 2024). Published a book review of Kevin Welner (Colorado), Gary Orfield (UCLA) and Luis A. Huerta's (Columbia) "The School Voucher Illusion: Exposing the Pretense of Equity" in Teachers College Record, Columbia University (Sage Journals).

Book Chapters:

• Deas, K. (July 2024). “Is There Room for Me at the Table? Seeking a Sense of Belonging in the Academy,” In Nicholas D. Hartlep, Terrell L. Strayhorn, and Fred Bonner II (Eds.) , Belonging in Higher Education: Perspectives and Lessons from Diverse Faculty, New York: Rutledge.
• Deas, K. (September 2018). “High-Performing Teachers, Student Achievement, and Equity as an Outcome of Educational Supervision,” In S.J. Zepeda and J.A. Ponticell (Eds.), The Wiley Handbook of Educational Supervision, Boston: Wiley Blackwell.

Books Published

• Burns, A., Deas, K., Howard, T., Risk, J, Taylor, R, & Williams, J, America’s Founding Documents: A Documentary Reader for the South Carolina REACH Act, (submitted, University of South Carolina Press).
• Dayton, J. and Deas, K., South Carolina Education Law; A State Companion To Education Law: Principles, Policies, and Practice, Bangor: Wisdom Builders Press (forthcoming, Fall 2025).
• Deas, K., Freedom Papers: A Collection of Literary Works on Race and Nation, San Diego: Cognella. Academic Publishing, (forthcoming May/June 2025).

Research Grants:

• U.S. Department of Education Federal Grant; U.S. Department of Education’s American History and Civics Engagement National Activities Program; Project: “America: A Story That Must Not Be Forgotten;” Position: Civic Engagement Coordinator (Key Personnel); Grant Period: 5-Years; Amount: $2.4 million.
• Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Civic Engagement Grant; Clemson University; Project: Civic Engagement & Voting Rights Teacher Scholars Program; Position: Mellon Civic Engagement & Voting Rights Teacher Scholar (Cohort 1); Grant Period: 3-Years; Amount: $500,000.
• Recipient of a 2022 ASPIRE-1 Innovation Track II-B Research Grant for Postdoctoral Scholar Development; Office of the Vice President for Research; University of South Carolina; Project: Mentoring for Math Proficiency (M4MP); Grant Period: 2-Years; Amount: $5,000.

Area of Research:  

Dr. Deas’s research interests are focused upon the politics of PK-12 education reform, eradicating the achievement gap, examining the issue of education reform as it relates to using culturally relevant teaching pedagogies such as The Algebra Project as a component of a model to improve public education and exploring the transformational capacities shaped by policies and laws designed to achieve greater equity and social justice for least advantaged populations.

Teaching:

AFAM 200 – Freedom Papers: Narrative of Race and Nation