Dr. Michael Vavrus is Professor Emeritus at The Evergreen State College and author. He fully retired from formal education June 2024. Forthcoming in 2026 is an invited chapter titled “Rise of Fascism in the United States: A Critical Multicultural Anti-Fascist Response.” Michael’s work focuses on the intersection of education, history, and political economy. His teaching and research critiques and counters distorted master narratives of history and current events. Below are some of his published works.
Michael is past president of the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education and the past president of the Washington state chapter of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. He has also served as the scholarship/research committee chair for the “Critical Examination of Race, Ethnicity, Class, & Gender,” a special interest group of the American Educational Research Association.
Michael graduated from Drake University with a B.A. in political science with a minor in history; studied at the University of the Americas in Puebla, Mexico, and at the United Nations through Drew University; earned a M.A.from Michigan State University in social & philosophical foundations of education with a minor in African history (an interest from his time as a classroom teacher in rural Ethiopia as a Peace Corps volunteer); and graduated from Michigan State University with a Ph.D. in instructional design with a minor in economic, which led to his research on teacher labor and alienation.
In West Virginia, Michael was teacher/director of a parent-run one-room elementary school and later a public school teacher of the “gifted.” His research and teaching reflects an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning. For example, one of his last courses was “Political Economy of Fascist Politics: Consequences and Resistance.”
Michael lives in Olympia, Washington, USA, and can be contacted at vavrusm@evergreen.edu