President Drew Faust today announced that Richard J. Murnane, Thompson professor of education and society, will serve as acting dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), effective July 1. He joined the faculty in 1983. Dean Kathleen McCartney, as previously announced, is departing to become president of Smith College. Murnane was among the senior faculty members serving on the search committee for her successor.
Murnane, an economist and research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, has examined changing demands for workers’ skills in the evolving U.S. economy, and the effectiveness of education policies in responding to those changes. He also studies the effects of income inequality on educational opportunity.
This Harvard Magazine report includes Murnane’s perspective on HGSE’s curriculum revision several years ago. In the current issue, an article on urban joblessness refers to Murnane’s economic research. He also participated in the magazine’s roundtable on public education.
In the University news release, Faust said, “Dick Murnane has long been an admired leader within the Ed School faculty, recognized for his excellent scholarship and teaching, his wide experience and collegial style, and his deep devotion to the School and its beneficial impact on education policy and practice.” The search for a permanent successor to McCartney continues, Faust said. Read the announcement here.
