Kenzo Sung

Kenzo Sung’s research areas include urban education, bilingual education, education policy and leadership, critical race theory, ethnic studies, political economy, and history of education. Prior to joining LMU, Professor Sung was awarded tenure at Rowan University where he served as an Assistant Professor of Urban Education and Ed Foundations, and affiliated faculty with Africana Studies and American Studies. He has published in various journals including Race Ethnicity and Education, Peabody Journal of Education, and Bilingual Research Journal as well as chapters in Handbook of Urban Education, Race and Urban Communities, and Research Methods for Social Justice and Equity in Education. Professor Sung was previously an Andrew Mellon postdoctoral fellow at Wellesley College, and has been awarded funding from the Ford Foundation, Spencer Foundation, Mellon Foundation, University of Cambridge, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

Professor Sung recently received the 2021 Emerging Scholar-Early Career Award by the Critical Race Studies in Education Association. He has also been recognized through his leadership service, including as Communications Director for AERA Division G, Secretary for the Critical Race Studies in Education Association, and on journal editorial boards for Race Ethnicity and Education, International Studies in Sociology of Education, Educational Policy Analysis Archives, and Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research. Professor Sung is an affiliated faculty with U.C. Berkeley’s Center for Research on Social Change and won a university-wide Outstanding Instructor Award for U.C. Berkeley courses he taught in the departments of Education, History, and Ethnic Studies.

Professor Sung’s interest in urban education and policy has been shaped by his years attending and teaching in urban public schools. Prior to academia, he started as a youth organizer before moving into teaching middle school in Oakland, CA for five years, during which time he also served as the school’s science department chair, co-wrote a $400,000 Model School Grant, and helped coordinate a district-wide science curriculum redesign for Oakland public schools. Professor Sung holds a Ph.D. in Education Policy and Social Cultural Studies in Education from the University of California at Berkeley, Ed.M. in Teaching and Learning from Harvard University, and B.A. in Integrative Biology from the University of California at Berkeley.