Rate My Professor Jerusha Conner

Conner's scholarship focuses on youth activism and organizing, student voice practices, student engagement, sociopolitical development, and education policy. She investigates how youth become and sustain activism, the psychological costs and benefits, and the institutional impacts toward greater equity and accountability. Her research has received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Spencer Foundation, Surdna Foundation, and others, including a $125,000 grant with Johnnie Lotesta as co-PI. She has authored or edited key works such as Contemporary Youth Activism: Advancing Social Justice in the United States (Praeger, 2016), Student Voice in American Educational Policy (Teachers College Record, 2015), and The New Student Activists (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2020), alongside over 40 journal articles and chapters. Highly cited publications include 'Nonacademic effects of homework in privileged, high-performing high schools' (Journal of Experimental Education, 2013; 329 citations), 'Not just robo-students: Why full engagement matters and how schools can promote it' (Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2013; 256 citations), and 'The mental health effects of student activism: Persisting despite psychological costs' (Journal of Adolescent Research, 2023; 124 citations). Conner has earned the Tolle Lege Award for Excellence in Teaching (2013), Mid-Career Service Award (2020), and finalist honors for the Ernest A. Lynton Award (2013) and Research and Youth Leadership Award (2015). She chaired the Faculty Congress (2016-2018), co-chaired the Middle States Self-Study Steering Committee, and serves on the editorial board of the Journal for Peace and Justice Studies.