David C. Turner III, assistant professor of Black Life and Racial Justice at UCLA Luskin, received the faculty award at UCLA’s 21st Annual Black Convocation on Oct. 15, 2026, at Carnesale Commons.
Co-hosted by the Black Bruin Resource Center and the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, the event welcomed new and returning students and celebrated Black Bruin community and achievement. UCLA Luskin alumnus and California Assemblymember Isaac Bryan was also honored with the alumni award.
Turner’s scholarship examines social movements, political identity and how Black boys and young men resist systems of criminalization. As faculty director of the Million Dollar Hoods Project, he leads community-driven research documenting the financial and human costs of incarceration.
