About
David W.
Robinson-Morris,Ph.D.
Dr. David W. Robinson-Morris is an internationally recognized author, scholar, public intellectual, speaker, and institutional leader whose work sits at the intersection of imagination, justice, and the flourishing of the human spirit.
Focusing on a single question: What does it mean to be a human being?, his work centers the cultivation of imagination as a critical practice for personal, institutional, and societal transformation.
Rooted in educational leadership, critical theory, Black intellectual traditions, non-Western philosophies, and contemplative practice, Dr. Robinson-Morris equips communities to honor the past, critically analyze the present, and to imagine the others to build what is possible. At the heart of Dr. Robinson-Morris’s leadership is a commitment to cultivating spaces where imagination becomes a force for liberation—where institutions are reimagined, communities are engaged, and the full dignity of every human being is affirmed.
A LIFE OF STUDY, SERVICE, AND TRANSFORMATION
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Louisiana State University
Ed.S., Louisiana State University
MPA, University of New Orleans
BA, Loyola University New Orleans
LEADERSHIP
Executive Director, The Center for the Human Spirit & Radical Reimagining
Founder and Chief Reimaginelutionary, The REImaginelution
Former Inaugural Executive Director, Institute for Black Intellectual and Cultural Life, Dartmouth College
Former Executive Director, The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society
Former Regional Director, Diversity and Inclusion, Oschner Health System
Former Founding Director, The Center for Equity, Justice, and the Human Spirit at Xavier University of Louisiana
Former Assistant Vice President, Development (Corporations and Foundations), Xavier University of Louisiana
Former Assistant Professor, Division of Education and Counseling, Xavier University of Louisiana
PUBLICATIONS & WRITINGS
Chatman, M. C., Costa, L., & Robinson-Morris, D. W. (Eds.) (2025). Contemplative Practices and Acts of
Resistance: Narratives Toward Wholeness. Routledge: New York, New York.
Robinson-Morris, D. W. (2019). Ubuntu and Buddhism in higher education: An ontological (re)thinking. Routledge: New
York, New York.
Robinson-Morris, D.W., & Rutledge, K. E. (2024). Educational Redlining: Bridging Historical Contexts to
Contemporary Practice. In D. Rudnick (Ed.), Resisting Divide and Conquer in Schools and Society. Gorham, ME: Meyers Education Press.
Eaton, P., Robinson-Morris, D. W., Wallace, M., & Han, S. (2023). Where concept and life collide. In M. Quinn,
P. Hendry, J. Bach, & R. Mitchell (Eds.), Curriculum Histories in place, in person, in practice: The LSU curriculum theory program. New York, NY: Routledge.
Eaton, P., Robinson-Morris, D. W., Wallace, M., & Han, S. (2023). Dear friends of mind. In M. Quinn, P. Hendry,
J. Bach, & R. Mitchell (Eds.), Curriculum Histories in place, in person, in practice: The LSU curriculum theory program. New York, NY: Routledge.
Yetunde, A., Harilall, R., Mpotulo, N., Robinson-Morris, D.W., & Dibia, Y. O. (2022, January 3). Ubuntu: I am because we are. Lion’s Roar.
Robinson-Morris, D. W., Ahmed, S., & Harrington, R. (2022). Racial equity, access, and opportunity. In C. Smith-Ross (Ed.), Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on HBCU’s Academic and Social Culture. Lewiston, NY: Mellen Press.
Robinson-Morris, D. W. (2018). From human edification to economic engine: A history of higher education curricular development. In J. L. Blanchard (Ed.), Controversies on campus: Debating the issues confronting universities in the 21st century. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
SELECT LECTURES, PRESENTATION & MEDIA
Lectures and Presentations
Reimagining Higher Education: Ubuntu & Dreaming, Knowledge Equity Network (UK)
Creativity, Consciousness, & the Future Symposium, University of Michigan
Curriculum Theory Project Lecture Series, Louisiana State University
Lenten Lecture Series, Loyola University New Orleans
Embracing Access and Inclusivity, Knowledge Equity Network (UK)
Social Justice Unity Lecture (MLK, Jr.), Southern Connecticut State University
Podcasts
Contemplative Practices and Resistance in Higher Education, Student Affairs Now [Podcast]