OUR TEAM

Richard O. Welsh (richard.welsh.1@vanderbilt.edu) is an Associate Professor of Education and Public Policy in the Peabody College of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Welsh’s research focuses on understanding and transforming inequality in K-12 education, and his scholarship interests include urban education, the economics of education, school discipline, student mobility, the politics of education and research-practice partnerships. Dr. Welsh is the founding director of The School Discipline Lab and author of the forthcoming book, Suspended Futures: Transforming Racial Inequities in School Discipline (Harvard Education Press). Before joining Vanderbilt, Dr. Welsh served as Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at New York University (2019-2022) and an Assistant Professor of Educational Administration and Policy at University of Georgia (2015-2019). He also served as district-wide professor in residence for Clarke County School District. He received his Ph.D. in urban education policy and M.A. in economics from the University of Southern California in 2015 and 2013, respectively. He also holds an M.A. in Latin American Studies and a B.A. in economics from Stanford University.