Directors

Michael W. Kirst

Mr. Kirst is a Professor of Education - Business Administration at Stanford University, and brings years of personal experience in government education policy-making - at both federal and state levels - to his classrooms and his research.  A policy generalist, Dr. Kirst publishes widely to disseminate the results of his research.  He also uses nonacademic outlets such as newspaper guest editorials, magazine interviews, and radio and television programs to publicize his views.  In his current work as codirector of Policy Analysis for California Education (a research consortium including Stanford and UC Berkeley) he continues to make recommendations directly to state legislators and education leaders.

Rudolph F. Crew

Mr. Crew is the first Executive Director of the Institute for K-12 Leadership, University of Washington, a position he began in February 2000. Dr. Crew is former Chancellor of New York Public Schools since 1995, one of the longest tenures of any recent chancellor. While leading the district of 1.1 million students, Crew ended the automatic promotion of failing students, changed the practice of giving lifelong job protection to principals and persuaded the state Legislature to give the chancellor more say over the appointment of local superintendents. Prior to that, he served as superintendent to the Tacoma, Wash., and the Sacramento, Calif., public schools. He has also been an administrator for the Boston Public School System and a principal for several California public high schools.