Rate My Professor Travis Bristol

University of California, Berkeley

5.0

1 review · out of 5

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5.04/23/2026

Encourages students to think critically.

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About Travis

Travis J. Bristol is an associate professor of teacher education and education policy at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Education, holding a courtesy appointment in the Department of African American Studies. He is the faculty director of the Center for Research on Expanding Educational Opportunity. Bristol holds a PhD in Education Policy from Teachers College, Columbia University, an MA in Education from Stanford University, and a Bachelor of Arts in English with distinction from Amherst College. His career trajectory includes serving as a Peter Paul Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor at Boston University School of Education from 2016 to 2018, Research and Policy Fellow at the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education from 2014 to 2016, Clinical Teacher Educator at the Boston Teacher Residency from 2011 to 2014, and English teacher with the New York City Department of Education from 2004 to 2009.

Employing qualitative methods, Bristol investigates the influence of educational policies on teachers' workplace experiences and retention, professional learning communities in districts and schools, and the intersections of race and gender in education, particularly concerning teachers of color and Black male educators. His prolific scholarship encompasses over 70 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, policy briefs, and opinion pieces published in leading outlets such as the American Educational Research Journal, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Teachers College Record, Harvard Educational Review, Urban Education, Brookings, and The Washington Post. Notable works include co-editing The Handbook of Research on Teachers of Color and Indigenous Teachers (American Educational Research Association, 2022) with Conra Gist and Men Educators of Color in U.S. Public Schools and Abroad (Routledge, 2024) with Ashley N. Woodson. Bristol has garnered more than $7.4 million in research funding from prestigious funders including the National Academy of Education, Ford Foundation, W.T. Grant Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and UNICEF. Among his honors are the American Educational Research Association Early Career Award (2024), National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship (2020), Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (2019), and the UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Award for Public Service - Community Engaged Teaching (2025). He chairs the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Board of Directors, marking him as the first Black individual in this role over the organization's 38-year history, and leads the California Department of Education Teacher Diversity Advisory Group. Additionally, he serves on editorial boards for Urban Education, the American Educational Research Journal, and the Association for Education Finance and Policy Live Handbook, and boards of the National Center for Teacher Residencies and Albert Shanker Institute.