Executive Committee
KC-AERC is governed by an Executive Committee that is responsible for ensuring that the consortium fulfills its mission, guides its progress towards fulfilling its research and evaluation agenda, and oversees ongoing research projects. The Executive Committee includes faculty from all four partner postsecondary institutions.
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Dr. Carolyn Barber, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Dr. Carolyn Barber is an associate professor of educational research and psychology in the School of Education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Dr. Barber’s research is focused on the role of schools in supporting youth development. Since joining the UMKC faculty in 2007, she has published studies on volunteerism and predictors of community engagement, civic education, and the development of ideas about social justice in youth and young adults. In 2011, Carolyn received an Outstanding Young Scholar Alumni Award from her doctoral institution, the University of Maryland College Park, for exceptional research productivity in the first 10 years past Ph.D.
Her recent publications include:
- Barber, C., Sweetwood, S.O., & King, M. (2015). Creating classroom-level measures of citizenship education climate. Learning Environments Research, 18, 197-216.
- Barber, C., & Wasson, J. W. (2015). A comparison of adolescents’ friendship networks by advanced coursework participation status. Gifted Child Quarterly, 59(1), 23-37.
- Barber, C., Fennelly, K., & Torney-Purta, J. (2013). Nationalism and support for immigrants’ rights among adolescents in 25 countries. Applied Developmental Science, 17(2), 60-75.
Dr. Barber received her doctorate in human development in 2007 and her master’s degree in educational measurement, statistics, and evaluation in 2006, both from the University of Maryland, College Park. She received her bachelor of arts in sociology and psychology from Johns Hopkins University in 2003.
Contact Info
Division of Counseling and Educational Psychology
School of Education, Suite 223
University of Missouri-Kansas City
5100 Rockhill Road
Kansas City, MO 64110Phone: 816-235-6151
Fax: 816-235-5270
Email: barberce@umkc.edu -
Dr. Bradley R. Curs, University of Missouri-Columbia
Professional positions:
- Director, Hook Center for Educational Leadership and District Renewal, 2011 to present
- Associate professor, Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, University of Missouri, 2005 to present (promoted and tenured September 2011)
- Graduate teaching fellow, Department of Economics, University of Oregon, 1999 to 2005
Education:
- Ph.D. Economics, University of Oregon, August 2005
- M.S. Economics, University of Oregon, December 2000
- B.S. Mathematics and Economics, University of Oregon, June 1999
Contact Info
Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis
University of Missouri
202 Hill Hall
Columbia, MO 65211Phone: (573) 882-2759
Fax: (573) 884-5714
Email: cursb@missouri.edu -
Dr. Mark Ehlert, University of Missouri-Columbia
Mark Ehlert is a research assistant professor in the Economics Department at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Mark received his doctorate in comprehensive vocational education in 1998 and has worked extensively with institution- and state-level data to conduct research and evaluation on K–12, higher education, and employment and training systems. Recent research projects include statistical analyses of student outcomes from public schooling; teacher supply and demand; teacher attitudes and labor market behavior related to incentive pay systems in public education; trends in higher education enrollments and completions; the role of financial aid in college attendance and performance; impacts of professional development on teacher practice and student learning; and predicting enrollment of college applicants. Dr. Ehlert also has more than 15 years of experience providing software training and technical assistance to personnel in public schools to facilitate capturing, organizing, and reporting data for state reports and school improvement efforts.
Contact Info
Economics and Policy Analysis Research Center
18 Professional Building
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO 65211Email: ehlertm@missouri.edu
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Dr. Donna Ginther, The University of Kansas
Donna K. Ginther is a professor of economics and the Director of the Center for Science Technology and Economic Policy at the Institute for Policy and Social Research at the University of Kansas. Prior to joining the University of Kansas faculty, she was a research economist and associate policy adviser in the regional group of the Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta from 2000 to 2002. She taught at Washington University from 1997 to 2000 and at Southern Methodist University from 1995 to 1997. Her major fields of study are scientific labor markets, gender differences in employment outcomes, wage inequality, scientific entrepreneurship, and children’s educational attainments.
Dr. Ginther has been published in several journals, including Science, Journal of the American Statistical Association, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Demography, and the Papers and Proceedings of the American Economic Association. She has also received research funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Kauffman Foundation. She is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Southern Economic Association.
A native of Wisconsin, Dr. Ginther received her doctorate in economics in 1995, master’s degree in economics in 1991, and bachelor of arts in economics in 1987, all from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Contact Info
Economics Department
333 Snow Hall
1460 Jayhawk Blvd
Lawrence, KS 66045-7585Phone: (785) 864-3251
Fax: (785) 864-5270
Email: dginther@ku.edu -
Dr. John Rury, The University of Kansas
John L. Rury is professor of education at the University of Kansas. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin, and his research focuses on education policy, urban development, and social inequality. His books include Education and Social Change (2009), Rethinking the History of American Education (2008), Urban Education in the United States (2005), Seeds of Crisis: Public Schooling in Milwaukee Since 1920 (1993), and Education and Women’s Work (1991). Additional publications have appeared in the American Journal of Education, Teachers College Record, The Journal of Negro Education, Educational Policy, and other journals. He has served as president of the History of Education Society (1998) and a vice president of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) (1997–1999). From 1992 to 1996 he was editor of the Social and Institutional Analysis section of the American Educational Research Journal, and from 1999 to 2002 he served as a Senior Program Officer at the Spencer Foundation.
Contact Info
1122 W. Campus Rd.
Joseph R. Pearson Hall, Room 423
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS 66045-3101Phone: 785-864-9697
Fax: 785-864-4697
Email: jrury@ku.edu -
Dr. Jackie Spears, Kansas State University
Jacqueline D. Spears is a professor of curriculum and instruction and director of the Center for Science Education at Kansas State University. She has worked broadly in the field of higher education, with experience in teacher education, institutional development in private colleges, issues of rural adult access to education, and gender issues. More recently, her work has focused on gender issues in science, mathematics, and engineering. As director of the Center for Science Education, she collaborates with scientists and engineers in integrating contemporary research into high school science classrooms. She has directed projects funded by the National Science Foundation, the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Annenberg/CPB Project, Title III of the Higher Education Act, and US Information Agency.
Contact Info
Bluemont Hall 234
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506Phone: 785-532-5530
Email: jdspears@k-state.edu