U of A Professors Named to List of Top 100 Scholars

Three University of Arkansas professors of education reform were named to a list of the most influential education scholars in the country by the Washington-based think tank American Enterprise Institute.

Rick Hess, director of education policy for the American Enterprise Institute, compiled the list that put Jay Greene, holder of the Twenty-First Century Chair in Education Reform, at No. 31; Robert Maranto, holder of the Twenty-First Century Chair in Leadership, at No. 69; and Patrick Wolf, holder of the Twenty-First Century Chair in School Choice, at No. 72. Hess posted the list on his Education Week blog.

According to Hess, the list spotlights 168 scholars who work to move ideas from the pages of academic journals into the national conversation. Hess used seven measures to calculate whether and how university-based academics contributed to public debates about schools and schooling. The rankings reflect both a scholar’s body of academic work – encompassing books, articles and the degree to which these are cited – and their 2012 footprint on the public discourse as reflected by appearances in education news outlets, blogs, new media and the general press. The public-presence rankings and an explanation of the measures used to determine placement can be read on the Education Week website.

Greene, head of the department of education reform in the College of Education and Health Professions, researches topics including high school graduation rates and special education. He joined the department in 2005. Greene’s work provided more accurate measures of high school dropout rates in America than were available previously. 

Maranto joined the faculty in 2008. His research focuses on charter schools and political and educational leadership. With others, Maranto has written or edited 11 books, including President Obama and Education Reform: The Personal and the Political, just published by Palgrave Macmillan.

Wolf joined the faculty in 2006. His research focuses on school choice, including voucher programs. As a result of Wolf’s program evaluations, school voucher programs in Milwaukee and Washington, D.C., were reauthorized.