Christopher Carr, Ed.D., M.P.P., is Associate Dean for Outreach, Student Success & Engagement at George Mason University’s College of Engineering and Computing, where he oversees programming for over 12,000 students annually. His research centers on Critical Joy Pedagogy, student belonging in technical disciplines, and values-based leadership in organizational transformation. He brings cross-sector perspective from previous roles as Senior Adviser to the EPA Administrator and Chief Academic & Program Officer at the National Society of Black Engineers.
His research examines how individuals and organizations thrive in complex environments through three interconnected areas. Critical Joy Pedagogy, his primary framework, investigates how intentionally designing for joy in learning environments fosters vitality, purpose, and engagement — particularly in technical disciplines where deficit framing persists. His student success and belonging scholarship explores the conditions under which learners develop resilience and sustained engagement. At the systems level, his works on leadership and organizational transformation studies how institutions cultivate cultures of well-being amid uncertainty, drawing on cross-sector experience spanning higher education, federal agencies, and nonprofits. Together, these lines of inquiry bridge well-being science with practice.