Former Directors
Christopher Lubienski, Ph.D.
Prof. Lubienski's research focuses on the intersections of public and private interests in education, with a special interest in issues of equity, access, and organizational behavior. His academic background includes Postdoctoral fellowships at Brown University and the National Academy of Education. He is also a Fellow at the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado, was a Fulbright Senior Scholar in New Zealand, and Sir Walter Murdoch Visiting Professor at Murdoch University, Perth. He has received many awards and accolades over the years including the University of Illinois College of Education Distinguished Senior Scholar Award, and the PROSE award for his 2014 book from the University of Chicago Press, and has consistently been on the List of Teachers Rated as Excellent by Their Students during his tenure at the University of Illinois. In addition, he was Associate Editor of the American Educational Research Journal, and serves or has served on the editorial board of many academic journals including Educational Administration Quarterly, Educational Policy. Educational Theory, and Educational Researcher.
Dr. Bragg is the current Director of Community College Research Initiatives at the University of Washington. Prior to joining the University of Washington, Dr. Bragg spent over 25 years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she was the founding director of the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) and Gutgsell Endowed Professor. She holds a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in an interdisciplinary doctoral program on comprehensive vocational education, with specializations in postsecondary education, public policy, and program evaluation. Her research focuses on the transition of youth and adults to college and careers with a particular interest in access, equity, and outcomes for students of color, low-income students, and first-generation students. She is particularly interested in how underserved youth and adult (minority, low-income, first-generation, immigrant students) use community college to transition to higher education, including how public policies position community colleges as a primary port of entry. The expanding mission of community colleges, including the increasing importance of linkages to high schools, adult education, postsecondary education, and the workforce is of particular interest. She has led research funded by federal, state, and local government agencies, and numerous studies funded by foundations. Dr. Bragg is a fellow of the American Educational Research Association and 2016 recipient of the Distinguished Career Award from the Association for the Study of Higher Education.
Jennifer Delaney, PhD
Dr. Jennifer A. Delaney is a Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is also the Director of the Forum on the Future of Public Education at the University of Illinois. In addition, Dr. Delaney is a member of the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Her scholarly research focuses on higher education policy, with an emphasis on finance. She has published extensively in the areas of student financial aid, state budgeting for higher education, and on related topics of higher education policy. She worked for the US Department of Education and the US Congress on issues of student financial aid with the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance from 2000-2002. From 2003-2005, she was a policy analyst with the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, where she contributed to the Measuring Up reports, state-by-state report cards on higher education performance. She also served as a consultant for the Commission on the Future of Higher Education (under US Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings) in 2005-2006. Dr. Delaney served as chair of the Council for Public Policy in Higher Education from 2011-2014 with the Association for the Study of Higher Education. In 2014, she was the Faculty Fellow for the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Previously she was an Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Dr. Delaney earned a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Stanford University, an Ed.M. in Higher Education from Harvard University, and a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan.