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Fall, l998
Richard J. Light
Professor of Education and Public Policy
Harvard University
Phone: (6l7) 495-1183
Fax: (617) 496-3783
Richard J. Light teaches statistics and program evaluation at Harvard, with special
focus on programs in education. His work emphasizes how to collect and analyze information
to improve program management. Mr. Light received his Ph.D. in statistics from Harvard in
l969, and was appointed a professor in l974. He has authored or co-authored six books. His
book By Design (co-authored with Judy Singer and John Willett), published in l990
by the Harvard University Press, presents modern methods for assessing the effectiveness
of educational initiatives.
At Harvard, Mr. Light is currently Director of the Seminar on Assessment. This is a
consortium initiated by former President Derek Bok that brings together faculty and senior
administrators from twenty-four colleges and universities to carry out research on college
effectiveness. Now in its eighth year, this Seminar continues with the support of
President Neil Rudenstine. It especially encourages innovations to strengthen teaching,
learning and the overall college experience for students. Two formal reports have now been
issued, one in l990 and the other in l992. Mr. Light also teaches in the Kennedy School's
Executive Program for Senior Managers in State and Local Government.
Outside of the university, Mr. Light has been president of the American Evaluation
Association, an organization of scholars, scientists and managers working to improve
public sector services. He has chaired the Panel on Programs for Youth for the National
Academy of Sciences in Washington, and serves on the National Advisory Board for the
Program Evaluation Division of the U.S. General Accounting Office, the research wing of
the Congress.
Recently Mr. Light was honored with the Paul Lazarsfeld Award for distinguished
contributions to scientific practice. He also has been elected to the National Board of
the American Association for Higher Education, appointed to the National Board of the Fund
for Improvement of Postsecondary Education, and named by Vanderbilt University's
Chancellor's Lecture Series as one of America's great teachers. In Fall, l998, Mr. Light
was elected A Trustee of Wellesley College, and elected a Fellow of the American Academy
of Arts and Sciences. Mr. Light lives in Belmont, Massachusetts with wife Patricia and two
daughters. |
