Patricia A. Alexander is the Jean Mullan Professor of Literacy and Distinguished Scholar-Teacher in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology at the University of Maryland. She served as the president of Division 15 (Educational Psychology) of the American Psychological Association, and vice-president of Division C (Learning and Instruction) of the AERA. Since receiving her PhD in 1981, Alexander has published over 280 articles, books, or chapters in the area of learning and instruction. She has also presented over 400 papers or invited addresses at national and international conferences. She currently serves as the senior editor of Contemporary Educational Psychology, was past editor of Instructional Science and associate editor of American Educational Research Journal–Teaching, Learning, and Human Development, and presently serves on over 10 editorial boards. Alexander is a Fellow of the APA, AERA, and the Society for Text and Discourse. Her honors include the Oscar S. Causey Award for outstanding contributions to literacy research from the National Reading Conference (2001), the E. L. Thorndike Award for Career Achievement in Educational Psychology from APA Division 15 (2006), and the Sylvia Scribner Career Award from AERA Division C (2007).
Felice J. Levine is executive director of the AERA. Her work focuses on research and science policy issues, research ethics, open access and data sharing, the scientific and academic workforce, and higher education. Levine has led initiatives on such issues as Promoting Diversity and Excellence in Higher Education through Department Change and, for the National Science Foundation, on Education and Training in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences. She recently served on the National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Proposed Revisions to the Common Rule for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research in the Behavioral and Social Sciences and on the NRC panel on Putting People on the Map: Protecting Confidentiality with Linked Social-Spatial Data. She currently serves on the NRC Roundtable on the Application of Social and Behavioral Science Research. Levine chairs the Board of the Consortium of Social Science Associations, is past chair and member of the Board of the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics, and is president of the World Education Research Association. In 2014, Levine received a presidential citation from AERA “for creating a presence and fostering sustainability of education research nationally and internationally.” She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the AERA, and the Association for Psychological Science and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute.
William F. Tate IV is the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. He currently serves as dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for Graduate Education. Tate’s research program has focused on the social determinants of mathematics performance. His coedited book titled Research and Practice Pathways in Mathematics Education: Disrupting Tradition captures his interest in connecting researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to improve opportunity to learn in mathematics education. Tate has a particular interest in STEM attainment. Ongoing research projects include understanding the distal and social factors that predict STEM doctoral degree attainment broadly defined to include highly quantitative social sciences disciplines (e.g., economics). His coedited book titled Beyond Stock Stories and Folktales: African Americans’ Paths to STEM Fields captures the direction of this research program. For over a decade, Tate’s research has focused on the development of epidemiological and geospatial models to explain the social determinants of educational attainment as well as health and developmental outcomes. His book titled Research on Schools, Neighborhoods, and Communities: Toward Civic Responsibility reflects this interest. Professor Tate is a past president of AERA. In 2010, he received a presidential citation from AERA for “his expansive vision of conceptual and methodological tools that can be recruited to address inequities in opportunities to learn.” A fellow of AERA, he has received the Distinguished Contributions to Social Contexts in Education Research-Lifetime Achievement Award (AERA-Division G). He is an elected member of the National Academy of Education.
