Roland G. Fryer Jr. facts for kids
Roland Gerhard Fryer Jr. (born June 4, 1977) is an American economist and professor at Harvard University. He is known for his research on important topics like education and how different groups of people interact.
Fryer joined Harvard University and quickly became a professor. In 2007, at age 30, he became one of the youngest professors and the youngest African American to receive tenure at Harvard. Tenure means he earned a permanent job as a professor. He has won many important awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship in 2011 and the John Bates Clark Medal in 2015.
Early in his career, Fryer studied how people's social image affects society. Later, he focused on real-world issues, especially those related to race and different cultures. His work on the differences in school success between racial groups led him to work for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. In this role, Fryer started a program that gave money to students from low-income families who did well on tests. He also researched how police interact with people from different backgrounds.
In 2019, Harvard paused Fryer's work for a while, but he later returned to teaching and research in 2021.
Quick facts for kids
Roland Fryer
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| Born |
Roland Gerhard Fryer Jr.
June 4, 1977 Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
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| Education | University of Texas at Arlington (BA) Pennsylvania State University (PhD) |
| Occupation | Economist, professor |
| Awards | MacArthur Fellowship (2011) Calvó-Armengol Prize (2012) John Bates Clark Medal (2015) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Harvard University (2006–present) |
| Thesis | Mathematical Models of Discrimination and Inequality |
| Doctoral advisor | Tomas Sjöström |
| Influences | Gary Becker Steven Levitt Glenn Loury |
Contents
Early Life and Education
Roland Fryer grew up in Lewisville, Texas. When he was very young, his mother left, and his father was in jail. This meant Fryer had to take care of himself.
He went to Lewisville High School, where he was a star player in football and basketball. He earned a sports scholarship to the University of Texas at Arlington. However, he decided to focus on his studies instead of playing sports. He joined the Honors College, which helped him get an academic scholarship. He finished his bachelor's degree in just two and a half years in 1998, while also working full-time at a McDonald's drive-thru. He graduated with high honors.
Fryer then went on to get his Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) in economics from Pennsylvania State University in 2002. After that, he did special research at the University of Chicago with Gary Becker, a famous economist who won a Nobel Prize. Fryer has also worked with other well-known economists like Steven Levitt, who wrote the book Freakonomics.
In 2005, Fryer became an assistant professor in Harvard's economics department. He also became one of the first Fletcher Foundation Fellows.
Academic Career and Research
By 2005, Fryer was seen as a rising star in the academic world. He had published many papers about economics in important journals. In 2007, at age 30, he became one of the youngest professors and the youngest African American to receive tenure at Harvard.
In 2007, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg asked Professor Fryer to be the Chief Equality Officer for the city's education department. In this role, Professor Fryer helped create the Opportunity NYC project. This project studied if students in schools that weren't doing well would study harder if they were offered money for good test scores and for coming to class.
In 2009, Fryer started the Education Innovation Laboratory at Harvard University. He was its director until it closed in 2019. In 2011, he received a MacArthur Fellowship, often called a "Genius Grant." He also received the 2015 John Bates Clark Medal, which is a major award for economists under 40.
Fryer's research first looked at social ideas and how groups of people separate. Later, his work focused on real-world problems, especially those related to race. For example, he published a paper in 2016 that looked at how police use force. This paper caused a lot of discussion. Fryer later talked about some of the feedback in an interview with The New York Times. His paper was published in the Journal of Political Economy in 2019.
Fryer is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He is also part of their programs that study the economics of education and labor.
In December 2018, Fryer stepped down from a committee of the American Economic Association. He later wrote a letter to The New York Times saying he regretted allowing certain jokes in his lab.
In July 2019, Harvard paused Fryer's work for two years without pay. When he returned, he was not allowed to advise or supervise students, but he could still teach graduate classes. Harvard permanently closed his lab, EdLabs, in September 2019. In 2021, Harvard allowed Fryer to return to teaching and research.
Personal Life
Roland Fryer is married to Franziska Michor, who is a biology professor at Harvard. They met in 2006 when they were both members of the Harvard Society of Fellows.
Fryer has also performed stand-up comedy in Connecticut.
Awards and Honors
In 2008, The Economist magazine named Fryer as one of the top eight young economists in the world. In 2011, he received a MacArthur Fellowship, also known as a "Genius Grant," which is a very prestigious award.
He also received the 2015 John Bates Clark Medal. This award is given by the American Economic Association to an American economist under 40 who has made the most important contributions to economic ideas and knowledge. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He also received the Calvó-Armengol International Prize and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. At age 30, he became the youngest African American to receive tenure at Harvard.
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Roland Fryer
See also
In Spanish: Roland G. Fryer, Jr. para niños
