At the Head of the Class

Russell Rumberger of the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at UC Santa Barbara has been elected to the National Academy of Education (NAEd). He is one of 11 leading researchers and educators so honored.

The NAEd advances high-quality, education-related research and its use in policy formation and practice. Celebrating its 50^th anniversary in 2015, the organization consists of 199 members from the United States and 11 foreign associates, all elected on the basis of outstanding scholarship related to education.

“Russ is the epitome of a top-notch educational researcher — he has conducted rigorous research on topics that really matter to our nation,” said Betsy Brenner, interim co-dean of the Gevirtz school. “He has influenced the field through his empirical research while also influencing policy and practice for children, families and teachers.”

Said Rumberger, “I feel honored to be elected to such an illustrious group. It validates your work as a scholar.”

An emeritus professor in UCSB’s Department of Education, Rumberger directs the California Dropout Research Project, which produced a series of reports and policy briefs about the dropout problem in California and a state policy agenda to improve the state’s high school graduation rate.

 A member of the UCSB faculty since 1987, Rumberger has published widely in several areas of education, including education and work; the schooling of disadvantaged students, particularly school dropouts and linguistic minority students; school effectiveness; and education policy. He is the author of the book “Dropping Out: Why Students Drop Out of High School and What Can Be Done About It” (Harvard University Press, 2011).

Rumberger is a fellow of the American Education Research Association, and has served on the National Research Council’s Committee on Increasing High School Students’ Engagement and Motivation to Learn. In addition, he was a member of the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences panel, which in 2008 produced “The Dropout Prevention Practice Guide.”