Scholar, artist, poet, activist, and public intellectual. Dr. Darder holds the Leavey Presidential Endowed Chair in Ethics and Moral Leadership in the School of Education at Loyola Marymount University. She also is Professor Emerita of Educational Policy, Organization, and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Dr. Darder has taught at California Polytechnic University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and was recognized as a Distinguished Professor at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces. In 2005, working with graduate students and community members, she established the Liberacion! Radio Collective a public affairs radio program, on WEFT 90.1 Champaign that examines politics, art, and struggle through the nexus of local/global connections. In 2011, Dr. Darder was recognized as Professor Emerita at the University of Illinois, where she taught in the Department of Educational Policy Studies from 2003-2011. Today she serves as Presidential Endowed Chair in Ethics and Moral Leadership in the School of Education at Loyola Marymount University.

Dr. Darder's work focuses on comparative studies of racism, political economy, education, and society. Her teaching and research examine issues of inequalities and the politics of social exclusions, as these relate to racism, class inequalities, and gendered relations of power. Her work also explores popular culture and the politics of public pedagogy with respect to critical democratic participation. Her most recent research examines the pervasiveness of oppression within the university, as well as issues directly tied to the body, pedagogy, and inequality.

In addition to her recognition as a distinguished professor, Dr. Darder has received several awards and honors for her community and professional work. Along with a national Kellogg Foundation Fellowship, she has also received the Social Justice in Education Award from the University of New Mexico, an Outstanding Book of the Year honor from the American Educational Research Association, and recognition for Outstanding Service to the Latino Community from El Centro de Acción Social, among others.