Education researchers named top national influencers

Five Michigan State University faculty earned national recognition for their influential research in the field of education.

With expertise spanning from economics to sociology, these MSU researchers are among 200 scholars from across the nation appearing on Rick Hess' 2020 Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings.

The Edu-Scholar ranking honors researchers who are considered to have the greatest influence on education practice and policy.

MSU faculty members included in the 2020 ranking are:

• Joshua Cowen, professor of education policy, and the founder and co-director of the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative, or EPIC (no. 173)
• Sarah Reckhow, associate professor of political science (no. 181)
• William Schmidt, University Distinguished Professor and director of the Center for the Study of Curriculum Policy (no. 127)
• Barbara Schneider, John A. Hannah Chair and University Distinguished Professor in the College of Education and Department of Sociology (no. 103)
• Katharine Strunk, Clifford E. Erickson Distinguished Chair in Education, professor of education policy and co-director of EPIC (no. 165)

The Edu-Scholar rankings are calculated based on scores in nine categories, such as citations via Google Scholar, news coverage, online mentions and books. The list is compiled from last year's list of scholars plus at-large selections by a committee of scholars.