Valerie Kinloch is the Renée and Richard Goldman Dean of the School of Education and Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Her scholarship examines the literacies and community engagements of youth and adults inside and outside schools. Author of publications on race, place, literacy, and equity, her books include: Still Seeking an Attitude: Critical Reflections on the Work of June Jordan (2004), June Jordan: Her Life and Letters (2006), Harlem On Our Minds: Place, Race, and the Literacies of Urban Youth (2010), Urban Literacies: Critical Perspectives on Language, Learning, and Community (2011), Crossing Boundaries: Teaching and Learning with Urban Youth (2012), and Service-Learning in Literacy Education: Possibilities for Teaching and Learning (2015). In 2012, her book, Harlem On Our Minds, received the Outstanding Book of the Year Award from the American Educational Research Association (AERA). In 2014, her book titled, Crossing Boundaries: Teaching and Learning with Urban Youth, was a staff pick for professional development by the Teaching Tolerance Education Magazine.

Born and raised in Charleston, SC, Valerie completed her K-12 education in public schools there. Then, she went on to receive her undergraduate degree from Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, NC, and her graduate degrees from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. She has worked in public school contexts and at various universities including, the University of Houston-Downtown, Teachers College-Columbia University, and Ohio State University.

At this year’s 2019 American Educational Research Association conference, Valerie will receive recognition as an AERA Fellow. Additionally, she is recipient of the 2010 AERA Scholars of Color Early Career Award, the 2015 University Distinguished Diversity Award from Ohio State, and the 2015, Rewey Belle Inglis Award for Outstanding Women in English Education from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). In 2016, she was honored with the Distinguished Faculty Advising Award from the Council of Graduate Students at Ohio State and in 2018, she received the Advancement of People of Color Leadership Award from the National Council of Teachers of English. Valerie has received grants from the Spencer Foundation, National Council of Teachers of English, Corporation for National and Community Service, and the Battelle Endowment for Technology. With colleagues, she participated in a Fulbright-Hayes fellowship to Sierra Leone, West Africa to examine connections among language, culture, and history in Sierra Leone and the U.S. Gullah Islands. Currently, she is completing articles and book projects on literacy, equity, justice, engagement, and leadership.

Main research areas pertain to: adolescent literacies, urban literacies, urban education, community engagement, out-of-school learning, race, social justice, equity.