Prominent education researchers and activists will convene at The University of Arizona this month to discuss issues related to race, gender, socioeconomics and other critical issues facing families and schools across the nation. 

The 11th annual Institute for Transformative Education conference will be held July 14 through 17. The Tucson Unified School District is collaborating with the UA College of Education to host the conference.

Among the keynote speakers are:

Tim Wise, one of the most prominent anti-racist writers and activists in the United States. Wise has spoken in 48 states, and hundreds of college campuses across the nation.

Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade, co-director of the Educational Equity Initiative at San Francisco State University's Cesar Chavez Institute. He has researched urban schooling, curriculum change, urban teacher development, retention, critical pedagogy and cultural and ethnic studies.  

Mari Matsuda, a law professor at William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii, who is considered a preeminent legal scholar. Matsuda is credited as one of the scholars to introduce critical race theory, which critically considers the influence of racism and discrimination within the context of power and control.

Sonia Nieto, professor emerita of language, literacy, and culture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is considered one of the foremost researchers in multicultural education and teacher preparation for culturally and linguistically diverse student populations. Her book "Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education" is widely used in teacher preparation and inservice courses.

A.A. Akom, an assistant professor of sociology at San Francisco State University, co-directs the Educational Equity for the Cesar Chavez Institute. Akom's research has involved studying tobacco control, substance abuse, health policy, racial disparities, urban ethnography, poverty and youth culture.

Mica Pollock, an anthropologist of education at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, studies how youth and adults struggle daily to discuss and address issues of racial difference in school and community settings. Her book, "Colormute: Race Talk Dilemmas in an American School," was the winner of the 2005 American Educational Research Association's Outstanding Book Award. The book explores the concept of "colormuteness," or the deletion of race labels from everyday and policy discourse.

The institute is meant to provide a forum for an in-depth discussion on curriculum, pedagogy, cultural competency and ways to improve education.

The annual conference brings together professors, teachers, activists, students and other professionals from across the nation.