The Association of Public Policy and Analysis Management (APPAM) has selected Dr. Russ Whitehurst, Emeritus Professor of Psychology Stony Brook University, as the recipient of the 2019 Spencer Foundation Award. The Spencer Foundation Award recognizes noteworthy contributions through research and analysis in the field of education policy and management.
As part of the award, Dr. Whitehurst has been invited to deliver a lecture at the APPAM Fall Research Conference in November. The lecture will take place on Friday, November 8th, at the Sheraton Hotel Downtown Denver in Denver, CO.
Russ Whitehurst is Emeritus Professor of Pyschology at Stony Brook University. He previously served as the director of the Brown Center on Education Policy and as senior fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution. As the founding director of the Institute of Education Sciences within the U.S. Department of Education, he is widely acknowledged to have had a transforming effect on the rigor and relevance of education research. His particular contributions at IES include creation of the What Works Clearinghouse, establishment of standing grant competitions for education researchers, and overseeing the development of a robust program of rigorous large-scale field trials of federally funded education programs and practices.
In his earlier career as a developmental psychologist he carried out seminal research on early literacy, language development, and preschool education. A program he developed to enhance language development in children from low-income families, Dialogic Reading, is used in preschools around the world. He is a recipient of numerous professional awards, including the Microsoft Innovators in Higher Education Award, the Peter H. Rossi Award of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, and the Robert Boruch Award of the Campbell Collaboration.
APPAM President, and Spencer Award committee member Matt Stagner notes that “APPAM is delighted to present the Spencer Award to Dr. Whitehurst, whose pathbreaking leadership at IES, as well as numerous other contributions over a long career, have greatly improved the application of rigorous research to the thorniest problems in education.”
The 2019 Spencer Award Committee was comprised of Matt Stagner (Mathematica), Rebecca Maynard (University of Pennsylvania), Susan Dynarski (University of Michigan) and Na'ilah Suad Nasir (Spencer Foundation).
