Who We Are

Our History

Fall 2011- Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education (CSREE) at the University of Pennsylvania founded by Professor Shaun R. Harper.

Fall 2016- Plans developed to relocate to Los Angeles to continue race and equity work. Strategy for a new research center conceived, which included a vision for an online racial equity tool that would help diversify colleges and universities.

Summer 2017- USC Race and Equity Center launched at USC, building on prior success of CSREE.

  • “PRISM” selected as the name for the online platform for higher education professionals of color and institutions looking to racially diversify their workforce.

  • Wilmon A. Christian III hired as Director of PRISM.

Fall 2017- Initial research and develop phase for PRISM began; project management team assembled.

Spring 2018- Stauffer Inc. selected to engineer and build PRISM site.

Fall 2018- PRISM is launched.

Our Leadership

Wilmon Christian

Wilmon A. Christian III is the Director of PRISM and the National Equity Network at the University of Southern California Race and Equity Center. His career in higher education has included various roles, spanning areas such as educational access, racial diversity, student success, and project management. A practitioner, Wilmon’s work is praxis-oriented, aiming to practically improve higher education outcomes, environments, and conditions for people of color. His research is focused on race and equity in higher education workplaces, with a specific interest in examining conditions enabling success for people of color who are in the higher education workforce.

 

Shaun HarperShaun R. Harper is a Provost Professor in the Rossier School of Education and the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. He also is executive director of the USC Race and Equity Center. Dr. Harper has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and other academic publications, and received more than $13 million in research grants. Johns Hopkins University Press is publishing his 13th book, Race Matters in College. The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Chronicle of Higher Education, and over 11,000 news outlets have quoted Professor Harper and featured his research.

 

Institutions Using PRISM

USC
University of Southern Maine
University of Colorado, Boulder
Washington State University Vancouver
Wake Forest University
Compton College