Brian Lozenski

Brian D. Lozenski is an Associate Professor of Urban and Multicultural Education and chair of the Educational Studies Department at Macalester College. He received his doctorate from the University of Minnesota (2014) where he studied the cultural contexts of teaching and learning. His research explores the intersections of critical participatory action research, black intellectual traditions in education, Ethnic Studies pedagogies and policy, and cultural sustainability in the education of youth of color.

Prior to pursuing his Ph.D., Dr. Lozenski taught in public schools for over a decade in his hometown of Philadelphia, PA and then in St. Paul, MN. As a teacher educator and researcher he has worked with youth, educators, parents, schools, districts, and higher education institutions to develop perspectives and strategies that aspire toward social justice while illuminating the historical realities that have created current educational disparities. He has publications in educational research journals such as Harvard Educational Review, Educational Policy, Educational Studies, Review of Research in Education, and Equity & Excellence in Education, among others. Dr. Lozenski’s recent book, “My Emancipation Don’t Fit Your Equation”: Critical Enactments of Black Education in the US was published in February, 2022 by Brill. He is also on the editorial board of the newly formed journal, Ethnic Studies Pedagogies.

Dr. Lozenski holds deep commitments to a community-engaged research framework where academic researchers follow the lead of community members and organizations to identify prevalent issues that can be addressed through an inquiry-based approach. He is a working board member of the Education for Liberation Network, where he has been a core organizer of the biannual Free Minds Free People Conference, which he convened in Minnesota in 2019. He is also a founding organizer with Education for Liberation Minnesota, the first local chapter of the Education for Liberation Network. Dr. Lozenski is also affiliated with organizations such as the Minnesota Ethnic Studies Coalition, the Network for the Development of Children of African Descent, the Twin Cities Solidarity Committee, the St. Paul Public Schools Ethnic Studies Steering Committee, and multiple district equity committees.

Dr. Lozenski has been instrumental in the recent development of Ethnic Studies in Minnesota, including facilitating a working group to create the first ever Ethnic Studies teaching licenses in the state, which are among the first in the nation. In 2021 he was named a Fellow by the Bush Foundation in recognition of his local leadership in educational transformation in Minnesota. He is also the proud father of three daughters: Tsedenia, Makeda, and Samra.