GSE Professors to Speak at SXSW EDU on Diversity in R&D, Nationally Strengthening Pre-K
Dr. Marybeth Gasman and Dr. Steven Barnett will be first-time featured panelists at this year’s South by Southwest EDU (SXSW EDU) conference focusing on diversifying the education research and development enterprise and strengthening Pre-K across the nation respectively.
Building & Broadening the Education R&D Enterprise
“There are so many things that investing in research and development can manifest,” Dr. Gasman said. “It’s important to have the very best minds. We can’t do that unless we look across all racial and ethnic groups and gender.”
Dr Gasman’s session, “Building & Broadening the Education R&D Enterprise,” will feature four experts in the field of education and be held on March 3 from 4 to 5 p.m. CT at the Austin Convention Center in Texas.
“Our session is going to be about how to get more institutions, especially Black colleges and Minority Serving Institutions, to be able to grow their research and development, to create a more diverse group of professionals,” Dr. Gasman said.
The panelists will discuss why Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other Minority Serving Institutions are critical for a diverse education research and development workforce. Further, they will explore the gaps between the vision for a more inclusive education enterprise and the status quo, and the barriers that stand in the way. Policy solutions for strengthening the role of HBCUs and other Minority Serving Institutions in education research and development will also be covered.
“In order to be strong as a nation in terms of our ability to take care of people and give people opportunity and the best quality of life, it is important that we draw from a diverse group of people in the area of research and development,” Dr. Gasman said.
Dr. Gasman will be joined by Dr. Jinann Bitar from The Education Trust, Dr. Pamela Scott-Johnson from Spelman College, and Dr. Ivory Toldson from Howard University to discuss policy solutions for a broader range of communities’ assets, needs, and perspectives in the education research and development process.
In addition to being a panelist, Dr. Gasman will conduct a book signing at SXSW EDU for her two latest books, Doing the Right Thing: How Colleges and Universities Can Undo Systemic Racism in Faculty Hiring (Princeton University Press, 2022) and HBCU: The Power of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024).
Dr. Marybeth Gasman is ranked #19 in the 2025 RHSU Edu-Scholars Public Influence Rankings. She is the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education, a Distinguished Professor, and serves as the Associate Dean for Research at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education. She also serves as the Executive Director of the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions. She is the author or editor of 35 books and a well-known speaker on issues ranging from systemic racism in higher education to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Dr. Gasman enjoys writing, photography, time with family, giving back, and traveling the world while always searching for beauty.
“I’ve always wanted to create opportunity for others because I was so lucky to have opportunity created for me. It’s so important to me to pay that forward.” Dr. Gasman said.
Her interest in HBCUs and institutions that are under-resourced and do the lion’s share of work educating students of color started when she read The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935 by James D. Anderson as a graduate student.
“It fundamentally changed my life,” she said. “It’s the reason why I’m a professor, why I do work related to Black colleges, why I use the methodological approaches I do.”
Both in her panel discussion and in the way she lives her life, Dr. Gasman believes that “a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” Taking advantage of the SXSW EDU public stage is exciting, she said, because the conference is “capitalizing on all aspects of the city from art to music to education to technology.”
She is most excited to be able to speak to the larger public and draw on her research, as she is a public-oriented scholar. Also, to visit close family friends while in Austin and capture her experience through photography and painting.
“Wherever I go for all my work I always take photos,” Dr. Gasman said. “I always try to look for the beauty that’s out there.”
A Path Forward: Strengthening Pre-K Across the Nation
Dr. Steven Barnett’s session, “A Path Forward: Strengthening Pre-K Across the Nation,” will feature four experts in policy and education and be held on March 4 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. CT at the Austin Convention Center.
This is the first time Dr. Barnett will participate in SXSW EDU. His session will bring together researchers, advocates, and communication experts in education. They will discuss new evidence on long-term benefits of high-quality preschool education, why it matters that every child is reached, and how and where preschool is expanding or stagnating, and quality is being prioritized or undermined.
Dr. Barnett will be joined by distinguished panelists: Diego Bernal, Texas House of Representatives; Allison Muhlendorf, Longleaf Strategies; and Maximiliano Rombado, Raise Your Hand Texas. They will tackle the topic of what can be done to advance progress on quality as well as access to pre-K.
Most states underfund pre-K, despite overwhelming data showing its importance in developing strong learners and reducing achievement gaps for underprivileged students. Children who attend pre-K demonstrate greater proficiency in critical skills and are more likely to graduate high school, pursue college, and avoid incarceration. Additionally, every dollar invested in pre-K can yield up to a $9 return, making it both effective and cost-efficient, but only when quality, educationally effective, programs reach the most economically disadvantaged.
Dr. W. Steven (Steve) Barnett is the founder and Senior Co-Director of the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University. His work focuses on public policies regarding early childhood education, childcare, and child development. His research explores the costs and benefits of early care and education, the long-term effects of preschool programs on children’s learning and development, and the distribution of educational opportunities for young children. More specifically, his research explores how economics can be used to better understand the determinants of early learning and development.
Early childhood education research is more than facts and figures to Dr. Barnett.
“You could say it is, literally, a matter of life and death,” he said.
With over 40 years as an economist, Dr. Barnett has seen tremendous possibilities and champions research to bring those possibilities to reality for children across the state, country, and, eventually, the world.
As an economist and son of a Navy officer, Dr. Barnett brings a unique lens to his field. His academic interests are intertwined with the study of economics and his early life living around the world and attending Department of Defense and public education programs in the Philippines, Florida, Guam, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio.