Susan Dynarski is among the top ten influencers and agitators recognized by the Chronicle of Higher Education for shaking up higher ed “in the classroom, on campus, and beyond.”
In “Sensible Explainer,” the Chronicle’s Beckie Supiano lauds Dynarski’s public engagement, calling attention to Dynarski’s regular contributions to The New York Times’ Upshot. “She has used the platform to raise public awareness of important research,” writes Supiano, “and to advocate for policy changes.”
Supiano describes Dynarski’s influential articles on the troubling graduation gap between rich and poor students; on a promising income-based student loan repayment option; and on ways to simplify, and even eliminate, the lengthy and complex federal financial aid form.
“In addition to popularizing higher-education research this year, Ms. Dynarski has also applied it,” notes Supiano. The comment refers to Dynarski’s role in helping to design the University of Michigan’s pilot HAIL Scholarship program, “grounded in research showing that many high-achieving, low-income students don’t apply to selective colleges—but that the behavior can be changed.”
Susan Dynarski is a professor of public policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, a professor of education at the University of Michigan's School of Education, and a professor of economics at the University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. She is co-founder and co-director of the Ford School’s Education Policy Initiative, which engages in applied, policy-relevant research designed to improve educational achievement and outcomes.