Slaughter joined the Rossier School of Education in January 2010 as Professor of Education, with a joint appointment at the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California. Slaughter has had remarkably distinguished career, which began as an electrical engineer and includes leading two universities and heading the National Science Foundation (NSF) as its first African American director, among many other accomplishments. His education research has been in the areas of higher education leadership, diversity and inclusion in higher education, underrepresented minorities in STEM, and access and affordability.

Slaughter is the former President and CEO of National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME), Inc., former Director of the National Science Foundation, President of Occidental College in Los Angeles and Chancellor at the University of Maryland. He began his professional career as an electronics engineer at General Dynamics and electronics engineer and head, Information System Technology Department at the Navy Electronics Laboratory Center in San Diego. He was also Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Washington, Academic Vice President and Provost at Washington State University and the Irving R. Melbo Professor of Leadership in Education at the University of Southern California.

He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Kansas State University, M.S. in Engineering from UC Los Angeles and Ph.D. in Engineering Science from UC San Diego. Dr. Slaughter's awards and honors include elected membership in the National Academy of Engineering; fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Tau Beta Pi Honorary Engineering Society. He is also an eminent member of Eta Kappa Nu Honorary Electrical Engineering Society, and is the founding editor of the international journal, Computers & Electrical Engineering. He holds honorary degrees from over 25 institutions, and was named to the American Society for Engineering Education Hall of Fame in 1993. Slaughter is the recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Award, 1997, UCLA's Medal of Excellence, 1989, and was honored with the first "U.S. Black Engineer of the Year" award in 1987.