Shaun Harper

USC Race and Equity Center
Founder & Professor

Shaun Harper is the founder of the USC Race and Equity Center and a university professor at the University of Southern California, where he holds faculty appointments in the Marshall School of Business, Price School of Public Policy and Rossier School of Education. One of the country’s foremost experts on racial and gender equity, he has advised major entertainment entities including NBCUniversal, Hulu, Bad Robot, Amazon Music and Ziffren Brittenham. A prolific scholar, Harper has authored 12 books and over 100 academic papers, with a forthcoming book, Let’s Talk About DEI, featuring multiple chapters on entertainment. Quoted widely in national media, he has also advised more than 400 institutions across industries and currently leads DEI strategy for the 2028 Olympics.