Biography

Dr. Edward Fergus is a Professor of Urban Education and Policy at Rutgers University.

Dr. Fergus was and Associate Professor of Urban Education and Policy at Temple University and Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at New York University. He is a former high school social studies teacher, program evaluator, and community school program director. Dr. Fergus’ work is on the intersection of educational policy and outcomes with a specific focus on Black and Latino boys’ academic and social engagement outcomes, disproportionality in special education and suspensions, and school climate conditions. He has published more than four dozen articles, book chapters, evaluation reports, and five books including Skin Color and Identity Formation: Perceptions of Opportunity and Academic Orientation among Mexican and Puerto Rican Youth (Routledge Press, 2004), co-editor of Invisible No More: Disenfranchisement of Latino Men and Boys (Routledge Press, 2011), co-author of Schooling For Resilience: Improving Trajectory of Black and Latino boys (Harvard Education Press, 2014), author of Solving Disproportionality and Achieving Equity (Corwin Press, 2016), co-editor of forthcoming book Boyhood and Masculinity Construction in the US (Routledge Press, forthcoming), and Unpacking the Cultural Shopping Cart: The Cross-Cultural Lives to Challenge School Segregation (Corwin, forthcoming). Fergus has worked with over 120 school districts since 2004 on educational equity and school reform, specifically addressing disproportionality in special education and suspension. Fergus partners with state education departments such as California (2010-2017), Maryland (2016 – present), Connecticut (2021- present), North Carolina (2021 – present), and Texas (2012 – present) and serves on various boards such as NY State Governor’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Group (2010-present), appointed in 2011 to the Yonkers Public Schools Board of Education (2011-2013 and 2019-2021), National Center on Learning Disabilities (2020-present), and is an expert consultant for the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division on Educational Opportunities (2014-2016), New York State Attorney General’s Office (2022), and NAACP Legal Defense Fund (2018).

Dr. Fergus received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Education from Beloit College and a doctorate in Educational Policy and Social Foundations from the University of Michigan.