Richard “Rich” Reddick, Ed.M.’98, Ed.D.’07, says it was his mentors at HGSE, like the late professor Charles Willie and then-professor Bridget Long, who instilled in him an ethos to “do something for somebody else.” Before he completed his doctorate, he co-founded HGSE’s Alumni of Color Conference, now in its 22nd year. Throughout his 30-year career as a scholar and practitioner, Reddick’s research has drawn from his own life, exploring mentorship, the experiences of faculty of color in largely white institutions, and cultural taxation — the uncompensated work of supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). He’s worked to create space and scholarship for conversations about race and equity in education — even while bearing witness to the rapid evolution of the DEI field. He says that community is what has always propelled him forward, from his parents to his fellow HGSE graduates, among them his wife and present-day bandmates. Community is also central to his new book Restorative Resistance in Higher Education, a vision for making college environments more equitable. Now, as dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies at The University of Texas at Austin, Reddick’s approach to student success is deeply rooted in an equity mindset, as he works to ensure that all 50,000 undergraduates who arrive on campus are met with a sense of belonging and an equal opportunity to thrive.
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Richard Reddick, Ed.M.’98, Ed.D.’07, has spent three decades leading change in diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education
PERCENTAGE OF UNDERGRADUATES WHO FEEL THEY MUST CHANGE OR HIDE AN ASPECT OF THEIR IDENTITY TO FIT IN AT THEIR INSTITUTION H G S E | 2 0 2 2–2 0 2 3
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