Casey D. Cobb has been appointed the Neag Endowed Professor of Educational Policy, Dean Richard L. Schwab announced this week to faculty and staff of the Neag School.

“Dr. Casey D. Cobb has a national reputation as an expert scholar in education policy” who has “demonstrated strong scholarly leadership throughout his academic career,” said Provost Mun Y. Choi in a statement to the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees, which approved Cobb’s appointment at its Feb. 24 meeting.

“This was an appointment enthusiastically supported across the board, not only by our department heads and members of a Schoolwide committee, but also by the University Provost and President Susan Herbst,” adds Schwab. “It is reflective of Casey’s distinguished record of accomplishment in the field of educational leadership as well as the spirit of collaboration he has brought into all aspects of his work with every one of his colleagues across the Neag School.”

Cobb joined the Neag School in 2003. Prior to his 2014 appointment as associate dean for academic affairs at the Neag School, Cobb served as department head of educational leadership from 2010 to 2014 and as director of the Center for Education Policy Analysis from 2006 to 2013. He is an elected member of the Executive Committee of the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA), a national consortium of 100 top universities. He is also a Fellow of the National Education Policy Center; a member of the Research Advisory Panel for the National Coalition on School Diversity; a member of the Technical Working Group for the Regional Lab of the Northeast and Islands; and past-president of the New England Educational Research Organization.

“This was an appointment enthusiastically supported across the board, not only by our department heads and members of a Schoolwide committee, but also by the University Provost and President Susan Herbst.”

— Dean Richard L. Schwab

Last year, Cobb was a co-author awarded the Outstanding Policy Report Award for Division L by the American Educational Research Association. He was also awarded the William J. Davis Award as a co-author for Most Outstanding Article published in EAQ in a volume year. He has published five books and more than 75 peer-reviewed journal articles and reports, and has given more than 85 presentations at national or international conferences. He is a three-time UCEA Jackson Scholar mentor, providing support for doctoral students of color who aspire to tenure-track positions in educational policy and leadership. Cobb has supervised 13 successful doctoral dissertations and served as associate advisor on more than 40 others. He also has served as PI or co-PI on projects with grant funds totaling nearly $2.8 million.

His current research interests include policies on school choice, accountability, and school reform. He also serves as editor-in-chief of Educational Administration Quarterly, a ranked Sage journal sponsored by the UCEA. He holds an A.B. from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from Arizona State University.

Cobb will return to the educational leadership faculty and the Center for Education Policy Analysis this summer.

The Neag Endowed Professorship will be supported by the Neag endowment.