Leadership
Malik S. Henfield, PhD
Founding Dean and Professor
Dr. Malik S. Henfield is a Full Professor and Founding Dean of the Institute for Racial Justice at Loyola University Chicago and serves concurrently as Vice President and Executive Director of the Chicago Urban League’s Research and Policy Center. He also co-leads the Chicagoland chapter of the Scholars Strategy Network. In these roles, he connects and amplifies universities, community organizations, policymakers, and philanthropic partners to build a research and policy ecosystem advancing justice-centered solutions in education, health, housing, and economic opportunity.
Dr. Henfield’s scholarship examines how systems shape student success, educator preparation, and community well-being. His work is distinguished by a focus on institutional design, building durable structures that move research beyond publication and into sustained engagement with practice and policy. Rather than centering individual projects, he focuses on creating the conditions under which knowledge, relationships, and decision-making reinforce one another over time.
At Loyola and the Chicago Urban League, this approach takes shape through signature models that bring scholars, practitioners, and storytellers into shared work. These include initiatives such as interdisciplinary research networks, research and policy fellowships, and public-facing convenings designed to translate evidence into action while elevating community expertise. Across these efforts, his leadership reflects a core belief that rigorous research and authentic relationships must move together to produce meaningful change.
Dr. Henfield has mobilized significant external investment to support this ecosystem-building work and regularly advises schools, universities, corporations, and nonprofit organizations on equity-driven innovation, recruitment, and retention. He holds a Ph.D. in Counselor Education from The Ohio State University, an M.Ed. in School Counseling (K–12) from the University of South Carolina, and a B.S. in Biology from Francis Marion University.
Dr. Malik S. Henfield is a Full Professor and Founding Dean of the Institute for Racial Justice at Loyola University Chicago and serves concurrently as Vice President and Executive Director of the Chicago Urban League’s Research and Policy Center. He also co-leads the Chicagoland chapter of the Scholars Strategy Network. In these roles, he connects and amplifies universities, community organizations, policymakers, and philanthropic partners to build a research and policy ecosystem advancing justice-centered solutions in education, health, housing, and economic opportunity.
Dr. Henfield’s scholarship examines how systems shape student success, educator preparation, and community well-being. His work is distinguished by a focus on institutional design, building durable structures that move research beyond publication and into sustained engagement with practice and policy. Rather than centering individual projects, he focuses on creating the conditions under which knowledge, relationships, and decision-making reinforce one another over time.
At Loyola and the Chicago Urban League, this approach takes shape through signature models that bring scholars, practitioners, and storytellers into shared work. These include initiatives such as interdisciplinary research networks, research and policy fellowships, and public-facing convenings designed to translate evidence into action while elevating community expertise. Across these efforts, his leadership reflects a core belief that rigorous research and authentic relationships must move together to produce meaningful change.
Dr. Henfield has mobilized significant external investment to support this ecosystem-building work and regularly advises schools, universities, corporations, and nonprofit organizations on equity-driven innovation, recruitment, and retention. He holds a Ph.D. in Counselor Education from The Ohio State University, an M.Ed. in School Counseling (K–12) from the University of South Carolina, and a B.S. in Biology from Francis Marion University.