Fall Commencement Speaker Pursues Goal to Transform Education
Na’ilah Suad Nasir has adjusted to Chicago winters as much as a native Californian can. She owns a snow shovel and knows how to use it. She purchased a big, warm coat.
“They say there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing,” Nasir said, speaking from her office at The Spencer Foundation, a Chicago-based organization that invests in nationwide research into education with an eye toward improving equity and diversity.
Nasir has been the foundation’s president since 2017, jumping into the world of philanthropy after years of learning and teaching in the Golden State, primarily on University of California campuses. On Saturday, Dec. 18, she will be the keynote speaker at UC Merced’s fall Commencement ceremonies at Merced Theatre.
Nasir is the president of the American Educational Research Association and is a member of the National Academy of Education and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Her career research examines the intertwining of social, cultural and political contexts with learning, especially in connection with inequity in educational outcomes. She has published more than 30 articles in scholarly journals.
Her determination to challenge damaging assumptions and inertia in public education systems can be seen in a 2018 book she co-authored. "’We Dare Say Love’: Supporting Achievement in the Educational Life of Black Boys” tracks the African American Male Achievement Initiative in Oakland Unified School District. A group of Black male teachers changed policy and practices to create a learning experience “rooted in love.”
In practice, that phrase means teachers who trust their students, show them respect and care, and expect them to do their best, Nasir said. It also refers to a caring, committed community of Black male teachers who regard their work with young people as a grave responsibility.
“One product of being Black and male in society is you don’t get to be a child and your developmental needs are often not met,” Nasir said. The Oakland school program was able to create learning spaces that fostered learning, play and human connection.
UC Merced is the extraordinary anomaly. It is the future of higher education.
Nasir grew up in Berkeley and attended public schools there. She enrolled at UC Berkeley, earning a bachelor’s degree in social welfare and psychology. Years later, she earned a Ph.D. from UCLA in psychological studies in education. A teaching career took her to Stanford University and then, in 2008, back to UC Berkeley.
In 2015 she was selected to be the UC-Berkeley’s vice chancellor for equity and inclusion, a role she describes as “the hardest and most gratifying job I’ve ever had.” Hard, because she took on deeply rooted injustices and inequities in the university community. Gratifying, because “I worked with brilliant change agents.”
UC Merced’s earned reputation for serving underrepresented populations and first-generation students is one of two reasons why Nasir is speaking at fall commencement.
“UC Merced is the extraordinary anomaly. It is the future of higher education,” Nasir said. “This is the work the higher education system is going to need to do to protect our democracy.”
The other reason is to honor the memory of her father, who passed away in November. Willie H. Dawson Jr. grew up in Oakland and spent his career as a landscaper. He didn’t have an opportunity to attend a four-year college but enjoyed working with young people as a coach and in other roles. And he raised three daughters who all earned advanced degrees.
“He understood the transformative power of higher education,” Nasir said.
