F. Chris Curran, an assistant professor in UMBC’s School of Public Policy, has been named an Emerging Education Policy Scholar for 2015-16 by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and the American Enterprise Institute. The Emerging Education Policy Scholars (EEPS) program is a select group of promising, new Ph.D. scholars and candidates who present innovative research ideas and demonstrate an enthusiasm for education policy.

As part of the program, Curran will join think-tankers, academics, policymakers, and reformers in Washington, D.C. during the upcoming year to bridge connections with senior education policy experts and K-12 education practitioners. The program is designed to cultivate talent within education research, create opportunities to share research ideas, and enhance understanding of the intersections between policy and practice with education research.

“The primary purpose of my work is to produce high-quality research that contributes to the improvement of educational outcomes for students,” shares Curran. “Being selected as an Emerging Education Policy Scholar is an exciting opportunity to advance this goal as it provides the opportunity to forge relationships with other emerging researchers as well as to build connections with senior policymakers in the field.”

Professor Curran joined the School of Public Policy in August 2015. He has research interests in education policy, early childhood education, school discipline and safety, teacher labor markets, and politics of education. He has recently published a Baltimore Sun op-ed about educational opportunity in Baltimore and a column about teacher overtime policy in Education Week.

Curran is one of just 20 scholars selected for the program nationwide. Read more about this year’s EEPS cohort on theThomas B. Fordham Institute website. Learn more about the specific goals of the program.

Image: Chris Curran presents talk at UMBC about his research. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.