Bernice Barnett

Bernice Barnett is an Associate Professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with cross-appointments in Sociology and Gender and Women's Studies. Her academic work intersects education policy, civil rights history, and intersectional analysis of race, gender, and class.

• Education Policy, Organization & Leadership
• Sociology
• Gender and Women's Studies

Her research focuses on the invisible roles of Black women in the civil rights movement, educational sociology, and systemic inequality. Key publications include Gerhard Lenski's Sociological Theories (2020) and Sisters in Struggle (1999). She teaches courses on the sociology of education and racial/ethnic family dynamics.

Recent publications examine intersectionality in educational systems, historical methods in education, and social foundations of equity movements. Her work often employs archival research and standpoint theory to analyze marginalized leadership structures.

Barnett's career demonstrates sustained engagement with critical race theory, Black feminist thought, and educational policy analysis. She has served as course instructor for EPS/EPOL 590 Advanced Graduate Seminar in educational policy studies and EPOL 409/410 courses on sociology of education and racial families.