Subscribe to News: RSS | email newsletters

Search Duke News
Resources for Media

Duke University Experts on Education

Note to editors: Duke provides an on-campus satellite uplink facility for live or pre-recorded television interviews. We are also equipped with ISDN connectivity for radio interviews. Please contact Cabell Smith at (919) 681-8067 (for radio or TV interviews).

Academic Achievement

  • Thomas DiPrete, professor of sociology. Researches the link between education and employment and income. (919) 660-5612; tdiprete@soc.duke.edu
  • Elizabeth Glennie, director, North Carolina Education Research Data Center in the Center for Child and Family Policy, Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. Researches the American educational system, teacher satisfaction and turnover rates, school engagement and educational achievement. (919) 668-0985; glennie@pps.duke.edu
  • Nancy Hill, associate professor of psychology. Research interests include parenting and family socialization factors as predictors of school readiness and achievement among white and African-American kindergarteners and their families. (919) 660-5755, nancy@acpub.duke.edu
  • Ryan Kinlaw, research scientist, Center for Child and Family Policy, Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. Studies dropout prevention interventions and student achievement. (919) 668-0981; rkinlaw@duke.edu
  • Kenneth Land, professor of sociology. Creator of the Child Well-Being Index, a composite picture of how well American children are doing in a variety of areas, including education, compared to 1975. (919) 660-5615; kland@soc.duke.edu
  • Jeff Valentine, research assistant professor in the Program in Education. Research interests include the intersection of the ways students think about themselves and achievement, as well as out-of-school time use and achievement. Also studies research design and statistical use in education research. (919) 660-2411; jeff.valentine@duke.edu

Back to top

Affirmative action and higher education

  • James Coleman, professor of law and senior associate dean for academic affairs at the School of Law. Helped write the American Bar Association's amicus brief for the Supreme Court's consideration in the University of Michigan's affirmative action cases. (919) 613-7057; JColeman@law.duke.edu
  • Helen Ladd, professor of public policy studies and economics, Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. Co-author of the book Elusive Equity: Education Reform in Post-Apartheid South Africa (Brookings, 2004), which draws parallels with affirmative action in the United States. (919) 613-7352; hladd@duke.edu

Back to top

After-school programs

  • Harris Cooper, professor of psychology, Program in Education. Recent research looks at how after-school programs can help students successfully complete their homework assignments. (919) 660-3167, cooperh@duke.edu

Back to top

Career Planning

  • Sheila Curran is the Fannie Mitchell Executive Director of the Duke Career Center. Before coming to Duke in January 2003, she spent 20 years at Brown University, including seven years as director of Career Services. Her book, co-authored with Suzanne Greenwald and titled Smart Moves: Career Lessons from Liberal Arts Graduates, will be published by Ten Speed Press in spring 2006. (919) 660-1072; sheila.curran@duke.edu

Back to top

Childhood and school violence

  • Kenneth Dodge, director of the Center for Child and Family Policy, Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. Research focuses on predicting what makes kids turn violent and ways to prevent that behavior. Recently received a $2.5 million grant from the CDC to develop a violence prevention program for middle schools in several school districts. Can also talk about programs dealing with kids in "alternative" settings, character education, what government/schools/communities should do with errant or at-risk youth, and the social cost of budget cuts to various programs. (919) 613-7319; dodge@duke.edu
  • David Rabiner, senior research scholar, Center for Child and Family Policy, Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. Principal investigator, GREAT Schools and Families. Studies violence prevention for middle school students and the impact of attention problems on student achievement. (919) 668-6917; drabiner@duke.edu
  • Donna-Marie Winn, senior research scholar, Center for Child and Family Policy, Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy; co-director, Durham Family Initiative. Studies the prevention of behavior and academic problems. (919) 286-2008, ext 225; dmcw@duke.edu

Back to top

Gifted students

Back to top

Higher education costs/alumni giving

  • Charles Clotfelter, Z. Smith Reynolds Professor of Public Policy Studies at the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy; professor of economics and law. Author of Buying the Best: Cost Escalation in Elite Higher Education, which looks at cost increases at elite private research universities. Co-authored Economic Challenges in Higher Education. Papers include "Alumni Giving to Elite Private Colleges and Universities" and "Who are the Alumni Donors? Giving by Two Generations of Alumni from Selective Colleges." (919) 613-7361; charles.clotfelter@duke.edu

Back to top

Higher education trends/economics

  • Craufurd Goodwin, James B. Duke Professor of Economics. Books co-authored include Missing the Boat: The Failure to Internationalize American Higher Education; and Academic Mobility in a Changing World: Regional and Global Trends. (919) 684-3936; goodwin@econ.duke.edu

Back to top

Homework

  • Harris Cooper, professor of psychology, Program in Education. Recent research looks at how after-school programs can help students successfully complete their homework assignments. Also researches the value of homework, making the most of summer school, the value of after-school programs, and the impact of school calendars and calendar variations on students and their families. (919) 660-3167, cooperh@duke.edu

Back to top

Leadership Development

  • Alma Blount, director of Duke's Hart Leadership Program in the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. Teaches courses about civic participation, political engagement, and the challenges and rewards of public discourse and group problem-solving work. She encourages students to consider how lives of commitment to the common good are formed and sustained. (919) 613-7323; blt@duke.edu

Back to top

Public School Segregation

Back to top

Racial Achievement Gap

  • William "Sandy" Darity holds joint faculty appointments at Duke's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy and at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. His research interests include inequality by race, class and ethnicity, and he is the author of Persistent Disparity: Race and Economic Inequality in the United States Since 1945. (1998) (919) 613-7336; darity@unc.edu

Back to top

Research Funding

  • James Siedow, vice provost for research. Also a professor and plant biology researcher. Oversees Duke's research initiatives, including exploring potential new areas for research; facilitating the transfer of technologies from Duke laboratories to the commercial sector; fostering collaboration among research units; and overseeing and administering the university's research policies. Also directs expansion of partnerships between Duke and other North Carolina research universities and with industry, with a special focus on the Research Triangle Park. (919) 681-6438; jim.siedow@duke.edu

Back to top

School Policy

  • Helen Ladd, professor of public policy studies and economics, Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. Editor of Holding Schools Accountable: Performance-Based Reform in Education and co-author of When Schools Compete: A Cautionary Tale, which draws lessons for the U.S. from New Zealand's experience with self-governing schools, parental choice and competition. From 1996-99, co-chaired a National Academy of Sciences Committee on Education Finance: Equity, Adequacy, and Productivity. Can also talk about public school financing, school accountability and vouchers. (919) 613-7352; hladd@duke.edu

Back to top

School Vouchers/Charter Schools

  • Thomas Nechyba, professor and chair of economics. Researches public economics, with particular focus on primary and secondary education. Recent projects include the economics of school choice, how school finance policies affect local communities, private school vouchers, and the effect of family and community resources on education outcomes. (919)-660-1815, nechyba@econ.duke.edu
  • Helen Ladd, professor of public policy studies and economics, Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. Editor of Holding Schools Accountable: Performance-Based Reform in Education and co-author of When Schools Compete: A Cautionary Tale, which draws lessons for the U.S. from New Zealand's experience with self-governing schools, parental choice and competition. From 1996-99, co-chaired a National Academy of Sciences Committee on Education Finance: Equity, Adequacy, and Productivity. (919) 613-7352; hladd@duke.edu

Back to top

Study Abroad/Internationalization

  • Gilbert Merkx, professor of the practice of sociology, director of the Center for International Studies and vice provost for international affairs. Can discuss the merits of international area studies and federal regulations related to international studies. (919) 684-5830; gilbert.merkx@duke.edu
  • Margaret Riley, director of the Office of Study Abroad, can discuss how the university has interacted with students studying abroad since the onset of the Iraq war, how the war has affected the number of applications for upcoming programs and other challenges facing international study. (919) 684-2174, mriley@asdean.duke.edu
  • Craufurd Goodwin, James B. Duke Professor of Economics. Books co-authored include Missing the Boat: The Failure to Internationalize American Higher Education; and Academic Mobility in a Changing World: Regional and Global Trends. (919) 684-3936; goodwin@econ.duke.edu

Back to top

Substance abuse prevention in schools

  • Susan G. Alexander, executive director, Transdisciplinary Prevention Research Center at the Center for Child and Family Policy, Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. Researches prevention of adolescent substance abuse, prevention of violent behavior in youth, adolescent anxiety, school-based prevention and intervention. ethical issues in counseling and the "duty to do no harm." (919) 668-6919; sgalex@duke.edu

Back to top

Summer School

  • Harris Cooper, professor of psychology, Program in Education. In 2000, his monograph, Making the Most of Summer School, synthesized more than 90 evaluations on the effectiveness of summer school. (919) 660-3167, cooperh@duke.edu

Back to top

Teacher Preparation/Retention

Jenni Owen, director of policy initiatives, Center for Child and Family Policy, Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. Current focus areas include working with state agency policymakers and university representatives (Duke, UNC, others) to develop strategies for using research to inform policy; serving as principal investigator on an initiative to enhance NC's system of professional development for teachers. (919) 613-7300; jwowen@duke.edu.

Back to top

Undergraduate life

  • Larry Moneta, Duke's vice president for student affairs. Oversees all aspects of the undergraduate experience at Duke and has recently co-authored a book chapter, "When Expectations and Realities Collide: Environmental Influences on Student Expectations and Student Experiences." He was formerly associate vice president for campus services at the University of Pennsylvania. As an adjunct associate professor in the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, he teaches a course each fall on effective student leadership. (919) 684-3737; larry.moneta@duke.edu.
  • Suzanne Shanahan, Associate Director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics and Assistant Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Sociology. Can discuss dating and the hook-up culture, gender relations, Corporate Social Responsibility and associated international policies, international adoption law and practices, racial violence and riots, and the effect of immigration policies on national movements (focus on Europe) as well as how immigration affects racial tension within populations. (919) 660-3033; suzanne.shanahan@duke.edu
  • Sue Wasiolek, Duke's assistant vice president for student affairs and dean of students. Has worked extensively in student orientation, parents' programs, judicial affairs, Greek life and crisis response on college campuses. As an attorney, she is certified as a mediator and teaches education law. She is co-authoring a book on how students can get the most out of college. (919) 668-3853; dean.sue@duke.edu.

Back to top

Visas and Student Tracking

  • Catheryn Cotten, director of Duke's International Office. A nationally respected authority on foreign student visa and security clearance issues, she has played a prominent role in how higher education has administered student visas. She can discuss how the Iraq war has affected this process for foreign students, visiting lecturers and foreign professors. (919) 681-8472, cotte002@mc.duke.edu

Back to top

Women's Leadership

  • Donna Lisker is co-director of the Baldwin Scholars program, a four-year women's leadership program created in fall 2004 to empower undergraduates to challenge campus social norms. The program began as a result of the Women's Initiative, a fall 2003 study that found undergraduate women at Duke felt pressure to be "effortlessly perfect." (919) 681-6885 or (919) 684-6579; dlisker@duke.edu

Back to top

Office of News and Communications

615 Chapel Drive

Durham, NC 27708

T: (919) 684-2823

After hours: (919) 812-6603

(For reporters on deadline)