Roland G. Fryer, Jr., a John A. Paulson Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, is Professor of Economics at Harvard University, an entrepreneur, and co-founder of Equal Opportunity Ventures—an early-stage venture fund that invests in businesses that can be commercially successful and (measurably) increase economic mobility in America.

Professor Fryer was awarded a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and the John Bates Clark Medal—given by the American Economic Association to the best American economist under age 40. He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a recipient of the Calvó-Armengol Prize, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, and a member of the 2009 Time 100 (list of most influential people in the world). At age 30, he became the youngest African-American to receive tenure at Harvard. In addition to his scholarly work, Fryer has been published in the New York Times.