Click the name to jump to each fellow's citation of accomplishment and introductory video.
Nicholas A. Bowman, University of Iowa
Dr. Nicholas Bowman is a highly respected scholar focused on some of the most pressing issues in higher education today, including how diversity and equity relate to student success. His research uses a social psychological lens to explore how college experiences, programs, and policies influence postsecondary outcomes. Dr. Bowman serves as an endowed chair in higher education at the University of Iowa, and is also the director of the Center for Research on Undergraduate Education. One of the most prolific and cited scholars in higher education, his work has appeared in 100 peer reviewed journal articles and 80 additional publications. His joint research on college admissions practices inspired the creation of Landscape, a widely used tool that provides robust data on high schools and neighborhoods to admissions offices and scholarship organizations. Dr. Bowman’s work has greatly informed evidence-based policies that influence student success, and ultimately help deliver on higher education’s promise for the most vulnerable students in college.
Derek C. Briggs, University of Colorado Boulder
Dr. Derek Briggs is a globally recognized authority on the psychometrics of large-scale assessments, particularly through the lens of vertical scaling, growth modeling, and value-added modeling. A professor at the University of Colorado Boulder's School of Education and Director of its Center for Assessment, Design, Research, and Evaluation, Dr. Briggs uses psychometrics to teach and challenge the conventional wisdom around quantitative research methodologies. He has also made significant contributions to research on learning progressions, diagnostic assessment, SAT coaching, and the validity of meta-analysis. His publications include 83 journal articles as well as his book, Historical and Conceptual Foundations of Measurement in the Human Sciences: Credos and Controversies. He has also served as president of the National Council on Measurement in Education and editor of the journal Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice. Dr. Briggs’ scholarship brings unparalleled and unflinching expertise to a field that is critical to advancing student learning and outcomes.
Marta Civil, University of Arizona
Dr. Marta Civil is a prominent scholar, leader, collaborator, and teacher educator whose research has significantly impacted issues of equity and parental involvement in mathematics education. A professor at the University of Arizona, Dr. Civil uses a sociocultural lens to study and highlight the benefits of family engagement in students’ mathematics education. A key foundation to her research is the notion of parents as intellectual resources in their children’s learning, and much of her work has focused on parents—particularly mothers—in Latinx communities. Dr. Civil’s contributions include more than 50 peer-reviewed papers, published in both Spanish and English, and collaborations with researchers in Spain and New Zealand working with non-dominant student populations. She has received numerous recognitions for her research, including the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Civil’s findings on parental involvement have shaped the field of mathematics education, making her a leading international expert in this space.
Jessica T. DeCuir-Gunby, University of Southern California
Dr. Jessica DeCuir-Gunby is a pioneer in educational psychology and the intersection of race and racial identity development. In her nearly 20-year career, she has examined the limitations of existing scholarship in the field, and has demonstrated the various ways scholars should engage in research, both in terms of conceptualizations of race and methodological approaches. Among Dr. DeCuir-Gunby’s numerous scholarly publications is her seminal and widely cited 2004 article titled, “So When It Comes Out, They Aren’t That Surprised That It Is There: Using Critical Race Theory as a Tool of Analysis of Race and Racism in Education.” She is a professor at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, where she is dedicated to mentoring and training the next generation of scholars in the area of critical race theory for impactful work toward greater equity in education. Dr. DeCuir-Gunby’s contributions are transforming educational psychology, forging a path to ensure that issues of race will be integral to research approaches and analysis.
Dolores Delgado Bernal, Loyola Marymount University
Dr. Dolores Delgado Bernal is scholar-activist whose work bridges the fields of education and Chicanx studies. Her research focuses on equity in education and draws on feminist epistemologies and critical race studies. Dr. Delgado Bernal is a Professor of Educational Leadership for Social Justice at Loyola Marymount University, and in 2020 was the Inaugural Associate Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at California State University, Los Angeles. Among her numerous contributions to the field is her groundbreaking 1998 Harvard Educational Review article, titled “Using a Feminist Chicana Epistemology in Educational Research.” Dr. Delgado Bernal has won several significant national awards for her work, including the 2010 Distinguished Scholar Award from the AERA Committee on Scholars of Color in Education and the Derrick Bell Legacy Award from the Critical Race Studies in Education Association. A dedicated mentor, she has published with many junior scholars and inspires their research by centering racism and sexism in the study of educational policy and practice.
Christopher Emdin, University of Southern California
Dr. Christopher Emdin is a groundbreaking scholar whose research explores the intersection of science education, urban youth, and equity. A professor at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, and Director of youth engagement and community partnerships at the USC Race and Equity Center, he is known for his melding of STEM and the arts, most notably hip-hop. His theoretical work on culturally relevant pedagogy integrates the perspectives and lived experiences of urban youth into curricula and teaching practices. Dr. Emdin has authored more than 30 journal articles, and six books—including a New York Times Best Seller. He was the recipient of AERA’s Early Career Award, and has been recognized nationally by TIME magazine and Education Week. He has also brought his innovative methods to wider audiences on the stages of South by Southwest EDU, the Kennedy Center, and the Lincoln Center. Dr. Emdin’s transformative scholarship is dedicated to humanizing and inspiring students who have been historically alienated in educational spaces.
Kara S. Finnigan, Spencer Foundation and University of Michigan
Dr. Kara Finnigan is an internationally regarded education policy expert who is charting the course toward more inclusive and equitable practices. She has made important empirical and conceptual contributions to the study of school choice, school improvement efforts under high-stakes accountability regimes, and regional approaches to school desegregation and equity policies. Dr. Finnigan is Senior Vice President with the Spencer Foundation and a professor of Education Policy at the University of Michigan, She is also Editor-in-Chief of AERA Open. Her social network analyses among school district leaders have illuminated how the flow of information from data and research can inform school- and district-level reforms. An influential mentor, teacher, and community leader, she was recently recognized by her former institution, the University of Rochester, as a Distinguished Equity, Inclusion, and Social Transformation Fellow. Dr. Finnigan’s work has significantly increased understanding of the ways that policies can address long-standing inequities in educational opportunity linked to race and class.
Michael S. Garet, American Institutes for Research
Dr. Michael Garet is an authoritative voice on the impact of sustained, intensive teacher professional development. His innovative work has advanced our understanding of teacher feedback systems and their influence on students’ achievement, teacher professional development programs, state standards, and the effectiveness of massive school‐based education programs. A vice president and Institute Fellow at the American Institutes for Research, Dr. Garet is currently studying the implementation of continuous improvement in 500 middle and high schools as part of an evaluation of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Networks for School Improvement initiative. His seminal 2001 article, focused on the federal government’s Eisenhower Professional Development Program for classroom teachers, was published in the American Educational Research Journal and to date has nearly 9,000 citations. Dr. Garet’s work has influenced a generation of research and contributed to a policy emphasis on sustained, intensive professional development with a focus on the content teachers teach.
Carole L. Hahn, Emory University
Dr. Carole Hahn is a leading scholar doing path breaking work on civic education and the political socialization of youth in different countries. Her research has shown that when civic education provides students with opportunities to express their opinions and engage in decision-making, they will be more likely to participate in political action. Among her most influential publications is her 1998 book, Becoming Political: A Comparative Perspective on Citizenship Education, which examined the teaching of democratic attitudes and values in the U.S., Britain, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Australia, and helped set the standard for subsequent comparative studies of civic education. A professor of Educational Studies at Emory University, her robust mentorship of graduate students and faculty has also contributed to some of the field’s most impactful research. Dr. Hahn’s empirical and theoretical work has helped internationalize the study of civic education, examining the challenges and promises involved in teaching democratic values to new generations of students.
Aída Hurtado, University of California, Santa Barbara
Dr. Aída Hurtado is a distinguished Chicana feminist scholar whose research sheds a crucial light on feminist theory, educational equity, and bridging education and ethnic studies, particularly Chicanx studies. As a professor and endowed chair in the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, she has examined equitable approaches to increasing access and achievement of Chicanx students in higher education. Her research has brought national recognition to the role that Chicano and Chicana Studies programs play on positive identity formation and educational successes. A highly prolific thought leader, her body of work includes more than a hundred articles, reports, policy briefs, biographies, and seven books, where she has made major contributions to the study of race, class, and gender and other related intersectionalities. Dr. Hurtado’s understanding of the lived experiences of Mexican immigrants, Mexican Americans, and Latinx people continues to have far-reaching and lasting impacts on the field of Chicana and Chicano studies.
Joseph E. Kahne, University of California, Riverside
Dr. Joseph Kahne’s conceptual and empirical work has been instrumental in shaping civic education. His publications, including his framework for thinking about citizenship and its relationship to various educational practices, are among the field’s most cited. Dr. Kahne is a Professor of Education Policy and Politics and Co-Director of the Civic Engagement Research Group at the University of California, Riverside. As Chair of the MacArthur Foundation's Research Network on Youth and Participatory Politics, he has advanced understanding of the digital revolution's impact on youth civic and political engagement. Among his many recognitions and distinctions is the Palmer O. Johnson Award for an outstanding article published in an AERA journal. Drawing on democratic theory of progress and informed political participation, Dr. Kahne has made lasting contributions to understanding how educational practices and policy can equitably promote the democratic aims of education.
Avi Kaplan, Temple University
Dr. Avi Kaplan has made critical contributions to research on educational psychology. His scholarship encompasses motivation and identity in educational settings, specifically studying the interplay of cultural processes, educational contexts, and personal attributes in meaning-making, and how these relate to learning, development, social interactions, and wellbeing. A professor at Temple University’s College of Education and Human Development, Dr. Kaplan is also a Fellow of the American Psychological Association Division 15, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Eastern Psychological Association, and he is currently the President of APA’s Educational Psychology Division. His publications and presentations are voluminous—he is among the top five most prolific scholars publishing in educational psychology journals in recent years—and his research citations exceed 18,000. Dr. Kaplan’s empirical work on identity development in relation to students’ achievement and wellbeing, as well as on teachers’ identity development and its personal and professional implications, has been foundational to educational psychology.
Jenny J. Lee, University of Arizona
Dr. Jenny Lee conducts transformative research on international issues in higher education, with a focus on challenging systems of unequal power. Through her scholarship, she has advanced understanding of how migration policies, academic mobility, geopolitics, and social forces shape inequities in the United States and abroad. Dr. Lee is a professor at the Center for the Study of Higher Education and College of Education Dean's Fellow for Internationalization at the University of Arizona. She also serves as Vice President of AERA Division J–Postsecondary Education. A widely cited expert, her insights have been featured in prominent news outlets, including NPR, Science, the New York Times, and more. Dr. Lee has collaborated internationally with several universities and earned recognition from the Association of International Educators and the Fulbright Program. A dedicated mentor who is building the next generation of scholars, Dr. Lee has been instrumental in informing our understanding of international students’ experiences in higher education.
Ou Lydia Liu, ETS
Dr. Lydia Liu has made substantial contributions to the field of applied measurement, specifically through her research in assessment of 21st century skills within higher education in the United States and abroad. She studies a wide range of complex and hard-to-assess competencies, such as critical thinking and collaborative problem solving. Dr. Liu serves as Principal Research Director of the Centers for Research Innovations and Strategic Program Support at the Educational Testing Service. The recipient of the 2019 Robert Linn Memorial Lecture Award from the National Council on Measurement in Education, she has published over a hundred scholarly articles, and has received significant funding from the National Science Foundation, the World Bank, and others. Dr. Liu has also served on the International Society for Technology in Education’s COVID-19 Higher Education Committee and co-leads the Association of Test Publishers’ Holistic Admissions Committee. Dr. Liu’s extensive scholarship sheds a crucial light on admissions and assessment practices and what higher education institutions are doing to improve knowledge and skills for undergraduate students.
Julie A. Luft, University of Georgia
Dr. Julie Luft is an internationally regarded expert and leader in the field of science teacher education. Her classroom-based studies have provided insight on new teacher development, the instructional support provided to new teachers, and most recently the resilience of new teachers to engage in equitable instruction. Dr. Luft is a University of Georgia Distinguished Research Professor and she holds an Athletic Association Professorship in Mathematics and Science Education. Currently the President Elect of the National Science Teaching Association, she has published multiple seminal works of scholarship across her 80 peer-reviewed articles and many state and national reports. She has received numerous awards, including selection as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Science Teaching Association. Throughout her career, Dr. Luft has promoted science teacher learning by bridging the world of teaching practice and research, and her leadership in the field has transformed the ways educators support new teachers.
David M. Osher, American Institutes for Research
Dr. David Osher has made critical and far-reaching contributions to research on the topics of school safety and bullying, school climate, and social-emotional learning competencies. His work in areas including mental health and wellness, conditions for learning, equity and disparity reduction, and the science of learning and development has helped to drive national-level conversations on evidence-based policy. Dr. Osher has been Vice President of the American Institutes for Research since 2008. A highly productive researcher, he has published more than 400-peer reviewed articles, and his work has been cited more than 9,000 times. His research has been recognized in the Family Movement Pioneers and Heroes Hall of Fame, and he has received the CASEL Joseph E. Zins Distinguished Scholar Award for Outstanding Contributions to Action Research in Social and Emotional Learning. In addition to informing congressional legislation to support safe schools, Dr. Osher’s scholarship has greatly expanded our knowledge of the social, emotional, and cognitive conditions for learning and teaching that contribute to safe, supportive, equitable, and engaging schools.
Thomas M. Philip, University of California, Berkeley
Dr. Thomas Philip is at the forefront of efforts to bring critical, ethical perspectives to learning theory, and on the uses of technology in STEM education. He studies how power and racialization shape interactions in classrooms, influencing what and how learning takes place as well as the relationships between teachers and students and among students. Dr. Philip is a professor of Learning Sciences and Human Development and Critical Studies and Faculty Director of Teacher Education in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley. His research has been published in the top scientific learning and learning sciences journals, including the prestigious Cognition and Instruction. His expertise is informing national dialogues as a member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Equity in Pre-K-12 STEM Education. Dr. Philip’s studies of the role of ideology and race within educational settings have broken new theoretical and methodological ground related to how inequities in education are both reproduced and contested.
Terri D. Pigott, Georgia State University
Dr. Terri Pigott is one of the nation’s foremost experts in systemic and meta-analysis in education research. Her scholarship centers on the development and use of new methods to review and analyze data aimed at important issues in education, health, and psychological well being. Her methodological work focuses primarily on addressing the statistical power of meta-analysis methods, problems of missing data, and reporting bias in education studies. Dr. Pigott is Professor of Education in the School of Public Health and the College of Education and Human Development at Georgia State University, where she also directs the Meta-Analysis Training Institute, funded by the Institute of Education Sciences. A dedicated mentor, she routinely works with graduate students and young professionals and continually volunteers to teach meta-analysis courses at the AERA Annual Meeting for early career scholars. Dr. Pigott’s contributions have considerably strengthened the use of meta-analysis methods by policy evaluation experts across disciplines and working in a wide range of policy areas.
Nichole D. Pinkard, Northwestern University
Dr. Nichole Pinkard’s work in the study of blended learning ecosystems has transformed the landscape of environmental design research. Working across multiple urban contexts, she focuses on connecting youth to the resources they need to develop digital literacy. Dr. Pinkard is a visionary in imagining the city as a potential site for equitable learning co-designed with the community. She created the Digital Divas and Digital Youth Network, Chicago-based programs that build the identity and agency of minority youth through the use of technology. A professor in Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy, she has been the Principal Investigator on grants totaling more than thirty million dollars from federal and private sources, including the National Science Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Inspired by her own experiences accessing digital media as a child, Dr. Pinkard has founded a field of inquiry that has expanded the footprint of STEAM programs for minority youth and is inspiring the next generation of scholars and community leaders.
Heidi A. Schweingruber, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Dr. Heidi Schweingruber is a leading champion of science education in the United States whose work is informing monumental shifts in how science is learned and taught. Serving as a nexus for multiple segments of the science education community, she connects research, policy, and practice in both formal and informal sectors. Dr. Schweingruber is the Director of the Board of Science Education, or BOSE, at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine — a position she has held since 2014. She plays a critical role in developing, conducting, and disseminating BOSE’s work, and has co-edited 14 books published by the National Academies press. Among Dr. Schweingruber’s most impactful and far-reaching publications is A Framework for K-12 Science Education, a landmark consensus report that ushered in a national effort to improve elementary and secondary science education in the United States. Dr. Schweingruber’s contributions address the most pressing issues of our time in science education, and her leadership and scholarship continue to transform the field.
Kari Smith, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Dr. Kari Smith conducts innovative research in teacher education in Norway, illuminating the effects of assessment, professional development, doctoral education, and responsive pedagogical practices. Her cross-national collaborations — designed to enhance teachers’ and teacher educators’ research capacity — have had a global impact, particularly in Scandinavia, Iceland, Japan, Israel, and multiple European nations. Dr. Smith is a professor in the Department of Teacher Education at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and an adjunct professor at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. She also serves as the Director of the Norwegian Research School in Teacher Education. Under her leadership, it has transformed the country’s educational research landscape, particularly in reshaping doctoral education, supporting the completion of doctoral dissertations, and enhancing the identity change of teacher educators. Her publications include more than one hundred scholarly articles and edited books. Dr. Smith’s policy work and teaching practice powerfully convey the international value of teacher education and shed crucial light on the vital importance of the field.
Mariana Souto-Manning, Erikson Institute
Dr. Mariana Souto-Manning is an internationally recognized preeminent scholar of early childhood education. With a focus on literacy teaching and learning, she has dedicated her career to bringing a critical racial justice lens to the field. Dr. Souto-Manning is President of the Erikson Institute and the Vice President for AERA Division K – Teacher Education. She has a vast body of scholarly work, including 12 books, 87 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 39 book chapters, and has received substantial funding for her research in the U.S. and her native Brazil. She has presented her work to global audiences in Brazil, Palestine, New Zealand, Iceland, Costa Rica, and Hungary, and has served as a guest professor at the University of Iceland and senior research fellow at King’s College in London. Dr. Souto-Manning is a visionary leader in literacy teaching for young English Language Learners and bilingual students who is challenging restrictive boundaries and hierarchies in teacher education and championing and supporting the development of early childhood educators.
Laura M. Stapleton, University of Maryland, College Park
Dr. Laura Stapleton is at the forefront of developments in the modeling of multilevel data, a critical area of methodology in the field of education. Her research focuses on the collection and analysis of educational data to shape education practice and policy. Dr. Stapleton is a professor of Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she is also Chair of the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology. She also serves as Director of the National Science Foundation-funded Quantitative Research Methods Scholars program. Appointed by the Governor of Maryland to serve on the Accountability and Implementation Board for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, she was also instrumental in developing the Maryland State Longitudinal Data System. She has been elected as Chair of two of AERA’s quantitative Special Interest Groups, and as a Member of the prestigious Society for Multivariate Experimental Psychology. Dr. Stapleton’s contributions to data methodology continue to have a significant impact on education researchers and policymakers at state and national levels.
Karolyn D. Tyson, Georgetown University
Dr. Karolyn Tyson’s influential work in the study of race and education calls into question long-held views about the Black-White achievement gap and its causes. Her highly regarded scholarship challenges pervasive yet poorly documented views of Black students’ academic perceptions, providing a deep exploration of the structural and socio-cultural forces that create and reinforce racial segregation in schools. Dr. Tyson is Chair and Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University and was the 2019 recipient of the AERA Scholars of Color Mid-Career Contribution Award. Her publications are numerous, and include her highly influential book, Integration Interrupted: Tracking, Black Students, and Acting White After Brown, which was the winner of the 2012 Sociology of Education Pierre Bourdieu Best Book Award. Her contributions are an integral part of the canon of sociological and education research on race, power, and the influences of schooling. Dr. Tyson’s work casts important light on the role of critical sociology and thorough qualitative research in re-examining assumptions, biases, and faulty beliefs in education.