James D. Anderson

James D. Anderson is the Edward William and Jane Marr Gutsgell Professor and Dean of Education, Emeritus at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he also holds affiliate professorships in History, African American Studies, and Law. He is renowned for his influential book, The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935, which won the American Educational Research Association's outstanding book award in 1990. Anderson has served as an expert witness in significant federal desegregation and affirmative action cases and has contributed to various PBS documentaries on education. Elected to the National Academy of Education in 2008 and recognized with multiple awards for his research and teaching excellence, he continues to impact the field through his course Race and Cultural Diversity in American Life and History.