NEPC Topic Experts on Higher Education

Mitchell J. Chang is Professor of Higher Education and Organizational Change at the University of California, Los Angeles and also holds a joint appointment in the Asian American Studies Department. Chang's research focuses on the educational efficacy of diversity-related initiatives on college campuses and how to apply those best practices toward advancing student learning and democratizing institutions.  In 2006, he was profiled as one of the nation's top ten emerging scholars by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education (formerly Black Issues in Higher Education).

Email Mitch J. Chang at: mjchang@gseis.ucla.edu

E-mail Antonia Darder at antonia.darder@lmu.edu

Amy Farley is an assistant professor in the Educational Leadership & Policy Studies program within the School of Education at the University of Cincinnati. Her research focuses broadly on equity in P-20 education systems and how consequential K-12 and postsecondary policies impact educational opportunity. She pays particular attention to school and university reform; high-stakes policies, including those regarding data use, measurement, and assessment; and the disparate impact of policies on minoritized student and teacher populations. Before becoming a faculty member, Amy worked as a K-12 educator and a Strategic Data Fellow through Harvard University’s Center for Education Policy Research, where she worked closely with state and local agencies to conduct research and provide technical assistance regarding the implementation of education policies and reforms related to standards, educator evaluation, and student assessment.

Email Amy Farley at: farleyay@ucmail.uc.edu

Gustavo E. Fischman is professor in educational policy and director of edXchangethe knowledge mobilization initiative at the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University. His areas of specialization are comparative education and critical policy and gender studies in education. He is currently leading two research projects. The first analyzes knowledge mobilization strategies of graduate schools of education. Specifically, this project explores the processes of knowledge-exchanges between academic centers and relevant stakeholders such as other scholars, educators, administrators, policymakers, and the general public. The second project focuses on understanding and strengthening the quality, impact and reach of open access publishing in scholarly communication in Latin America.

Dr. Fischman has published extensively and presented in numerous national and international conferences, and has been a visiting scholar in numerous graduate programs in Europe and Latin America. In 2013 has been elected fellow of the International Academy of Education. He serves in numerous editorial boards, and is also the lead editor of Education Policy Analysis Archives and co-editor of Education Review/Reseñas Educativas,

Email Gustavo Fischman at: Fischman@asu.edu

References to selected publications:

Fischman, G. E. & Diaz, V. D. (2013) Education without Redemption: Ten Reflections about the Relevance of the Freirean Legacy, Interamerican Journal of Education for Democracy 4 (2) pp. 70-87.

Fischman, G. E. (2013) ‘Hacerlo bien’: Acceso, visibilidad e impacto de la investigación latinoamericana. Cuadernos del Pensamiento Crítico Latinoamericano, CLACSO, no. 6, oct 2013

Fischman, G. E. & Haas, E. (2012) Beyond “idealized” citizenship education: Embodied cognition, metaphors and democracy. Review of Research in Education (RRE), Volume 36: Education, Democracy and the Public Good,pp 190-217.

Alperin, J., Fischman, G. E., & Willinsky, J. (2012). Scholarly Communication Strategies in Latin America’s Research-Intensive Universities. IESALC-Educación Superior y Sociedavol 16(2). http://ess.iesalc.unesco.org.ve/index.php/ess/article/view/409

Liliana M. Garces is associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin and affiliate faculty at the University of Texas School of Law. She teaches courses on higher education law, equity and diversity in higher education, and race, law, and education. Her scholarship, focused on the dynamics of law and educational policy, examines access, diversity, and equity policies for underserved populations in higher education and the use and influence of research in law. Her work employs quantitative, qualitative, and legal research methods and draws from frameworks in economics, sociology, and political science, engaging in interdisciplinary research to more effectively tackle the complex nature of racial and ethnic inequality in K-12 and higher education. Her research has been funded by the Spencer Foundation, the William T. Grant Foundation, and the W.E. Upjohn Institute.

Dr. Shaun R. Harper is a Provost Professor in the Rossier School of Education and Marshall School of Business, the Clifford and Betty Allen Chair in Urban Leadership, and executive director of the USC Race and Equity Center. He is author of over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and other academic publications. Review of Research in Education, Teachers College Record, Harvard Educational Review, Journal of Higher Education, Review of Higher Education, and Journal of College Student Development are some journals that have published his research. Professor Harper’s research has been cited in more than 8,000 published studies. His books include Advancing Black Male Student Success from Preschool through Ph.D. and Scandals in College Sports. Johns Hopkins University Press is publishing his 13th book, Race Matters in College.

Email Shaun Harper at: sharper@usc.edu

Robert Kim is the Executive Director of Education Law Center, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving public education and fostering equitable educational opportunity for students in the United States. His expertise includes most facets of education law and policy related to pre-K-12 and postsecondary education in the United States, civil rights litigation and advocacy, and constitutional law.

Email Robert Kim at: robertkimnyc@gmail.com

Michal Kurlaender is Professor of Education Policy at the University of California, Davis.  Her research focuses on students’ educational pathways, in particular K-12 and postsecondary alignment, and access to and success in college. Kurlaender works closely with all of California’s public K-12 and higher education sectors. She has recently launched an IES-funded partnership with the California Department of Education to explore college and career readiness in the era of Common Core. She also serves as a co-director of PACE (Policy Analysis for California Education), and is affiliated with the UC Davis Center for Poverty Research, Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research, and the Centers for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness and Analysis of Postsecondary Education and Employment (both at Teachers College). She received her EdD from Harvard University in 2005. Her work has been published in various academic and policy outlets.

Email Michal Kurlaender at: mkurlaender@ucdavis.edu

Gordon Lafer is a political economist and a Professor at the University of Oregon’s Labor Education and Research Center. He has written widely on issues of labor and employment policy, and his most recent book is The One Percent Solution: How Corporations Are Remaking America, One State at a Time (Cornell University Press, 2017).  Lafer has served as an economic policy analyst for the Office of the Mayor in New York City and has testified as an expert witness before the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, and state legislatures. Lafer is the founding co-chair of the American Political Science Association’s Labor Project, and has taught as a visiting faculty member at the University of Massachusetts’ Union Leadership Academy and at the Universidad Latina de America in Michoacan, Mexico. In 2009–2010, Lafer took leave from his faculty position to serve as Senior Labor Policy Advisor for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor. In 2011, he became a Research Associate at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, DC. In 2019, Lafer was elected to the school board in Eugene, Oregon.

Email Gordon Lafer at: glafer@msn.com

Ruth M. López, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in Educational Leadership and Policy in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and Practice at The University of Arizona College of Education. She earned B.A.s in Mexican American Studies and Spanish at The University of Texas at Austin, and PhD in Educational Foundations, Policy, and Practice at the University of Colorado Boulder. She was previously a Senior Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, and an Assistant Professor at the University of Houston. Prior to earning her PhD, she was a college outreach counselor in Houston through the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at UT-Austin, and a program coordinator of the Colorado Diversity Initiative at CU-Boulder. Dr. López’s research addresses the social and political contexts that students of color navigate across K-12 schools. Her work examines 1) the intersections of education and immigration policies, 2) college access for Latinx and undocumented students, 3) the experiences of Latinas at Hispanic Serving Institutions. Dr. López’s commitment to educational equity and college access is informed by her multiple identities as the daughter of immigrants from El Salvador and Mexico, first-generation college student/graduate, and mother scholar.

Email Ruth López at: ruthlopez@arizona.edu

Patricia Marin is an associate professor in the Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education (HALE) program in the College of Education at Michigan State University. She studies higher education policy, leadership, and institutional culture with a focus on issues of equity, inclusion, and diversity. In particular, her research foci include the changing nature of Hispanic Serving Institutions, diversity in college classrooms, and research use in policy and practice. Before joining the MSU faculty she served as Associate Director of the University of California Educational Evaluation Center. She also worked for The Civil Rights Project (CRP) at Harvard University and the American Council on Education in Washington, DC.

Email Patricia Marin at: pmarin@msu.edu

H. Richard Milner IV (also known as Rich) is Cornelius Vanderbilt Distinguished Professor of Education and Professor of Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. His research, teaching, and policy interests concern urban education, teacher education, African American literature, and the social context of education. Professor Milner’s research examines practices and policies that support teacher effectiveness in urban schools. Professor Milner is President of the American Educational Research Association, the largest educational research organization in the world. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Education and a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association. Professor Milner’s work has appeared in numerous journals, and he has published seven books. His most recent are: Start where you are but don’t stay there: Understanding diversity, opportunity gaps, and teaching in today’s classrooms (Harvard Education Press, 2010 and 2020, Second Edition), Rac(e)ing to class: Confronting poverty and race in schools and classrooms (Harvard Education Press, 2015) and These kids are out of control: Why we must reimagine classroom management for equity (Corwin Press, 2018).   

Email Rich Milner at: rich.milner@vanderbilt.edu

Michele S. Moses is Professor of Educational Foundations, Policy and Practice at the University of Colorado Boulder. A philosopher by training, Professor Moses has particular expertise in policy disagreements that involve racial, ethnic, and gender diversity and equity; moral and political values; and democracy and the public good; and academic freedom. She has been serving as CU Boulder's Vice Provost and Associate Vice Chancellor for Faculty Affairs since 2019, after serving as Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in the CU Boulder School of Education. She has been a Fulbright New Century Scholar and is a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association. Her work has appeared in the American Educational Research Journal, Educational Researcher, Harvard Educational Review, Journal of Higher Education, and Journal of Social Philosophy. In addition, Professor Moses is the author of Living with Moral Disagreement: The Enduring Controversy about Affirmative Action (University of Chicago Press, 2016), Embracing Race: Why We Need Race-Conscious Education Policy (Teachers College Press, 2002), and co-editor of Affirmative Action Matters: Creating Opportunities for Students around the World (Routledge, 2014). A first-generation college graduate, Professor Moses holds a BA from the University of Virginia, an MEd in higher education and student affairs from the University of Vermont, and an MA in Philosophy and PhD in Educational Foundations and Policy from CU Boulder.

Email Michele S. Moses at: michele.moses@colorado.edu

Joydeep Roy is a senior economist at the New York City Independent Budget Office and a visiting professor at Columbia University. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University. His primary research interests include public economics and public policy, economics of education, labor economics, economic development and political economy. His current research focuses on school choice and accountability, school finance and adequacy issues, teacher labor markets and topics in higher education. In recent work, he has looked at the effect of school finance reform in Michigan, high school graduation rates and the phenomenon of early admissions to U.S. colleges and universities. In ongoing research, he is investigating teacher mobility patterns, the relative efficacy of charter schools and the intended and unintended consequences of merit aid programs.

Email Joydeep Roy at:  jr3137@columbia.edu

Ron Scapp is the founding director of the Graduate Program of Urban and Multicultural Education at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx where he is professor of humanities and teacher education. He is currently the director of program development at the College, and is President of the National Association for Ethnic Studies. He is also serving as a member of the International Committee for Kappa Delta Pi and a member of United Federation of Teachers policy board for the NYC Teachers Center.  He has written on a variety of topics—from popular culture to education, from social and political philosophy to art criticism. 

His recent books include, Managing to Be Different: Educational Leadership as Critical Practice (Routledge) and Living With Class: Philosophical Reflections on Identity and Material Culture, co-edited with Brian Seitz (Palgrave Macmillan). He has collaborated with others on different projects, most notably with cultural critic and author bell hooks [sic]. He is currently working on a book about education and the culture of reform and is co-editor with Kenneth J. Saltman of the Routledge series, Positions: Education, Politics and Culture. He is editor of the journal Ethnic Studies Review, and is a founding member of Group Thought, a philosophy collective based in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Email Ron Scapp at: ron.scapp@mountsaintvincent.edu

Janelle Scott is a Professor and the Robert C. and Mary Catherine Birgeneau Distinguished Chair in Educational Disparities at the University of California at Berkeley in the Graduate School of Education, African American Studies Department, and Goldman School of Public Policy. She earned a Ph.D. in Education Policy from the University of California at Los Angeles’ Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley. Before earning her doctorate, she was a teacher in Oakland, California. 

Professor Scott’s research investigates how market-based educational reforms affect democratic accountability and equity in public education. She has explored this research program across several policy strands: 1) the racial politics of public education, 2) the politics of school choice, marketization, and privatization, 3) the politics of research evidence on market-oriented reforms, and, 4) the role of elite and community-based advocacy in shaping public education and research evidence utilization. Her work has appeared in several edited books and journals, including the Peabody Journal of Education, Educational Policy, Qualitative Inquiry, the American Educational Research Journal, and the Harvard Educational Review.

She was awarded a Spencer Dissertation Year Fellowship, and a National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship. In 2014, she was awarded the Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Committee on Scholars of Color.  In 2020, she was elected as an AERA Fellow. She is Vice President for Division L (Policy and Politics) of AERA (2019-2022). She is the editor of School choice and diversity: What the evidence says (2005 Teachers College Press), and, with Sonya Horsford and Gary Anderson, author of The Politics of Education in an Era of Inequality: Possibilities for democratic schooling (2018 Routledge). 

Email Janelle T. Scott at: jtscott@berkeley.edu