Gary Orfield

Gary Orfield is Distinguished Research Professor of Education, Law, Political Science and Urban Planning at UCLA. He is the co-founder and co-director of the Civil Rights Project, the nation's leading center of civil rights research. He has previously taught at Harvard, Univ. of Chicago, Univ. of Virginia, Univ. of Illinois, and Princeton Univ. and is the author or editor of more than 20 books and scores of articles in several disciplines, and major policy reports. His work focuses on equal opportunity across racial and ethnic lines with special focus on segregation and desegregation in schools and higher education. He is a member of the National Academy of Education and a Fellow the American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science and has participated as an expert in several dozen major class action civil rights lawsuits including some that have gone to the Supreme Court. A native of Minneapolis and graduate of the Univ. of Minn., Summa cum laude with PhD in political science from the Univ. of Chicago. He is married to Patricia Gandara, has three daughters and13 grandchildren. His homes are in Los Angeles and Mexico City. His first book was published in 1969 and the latest in 2023 with more in he works. Central concerns include the profound inequality in U.S. society, the serious retreat on basic civil rights law, and the resurgence of overt racial politics & violence.