NORC at the University of Chicago Welcomes Jennifer Hamilton, PhD, as Vice President of Education and Child Development Department
CHICAGO, August 15, 2018 – Jennifer Hamilton, PhD, an authority on trends in education research, including the emergence of big data and its potential to improve the social, academic, and economic outcomes of our nation’s most vulnerable youth, has been named vice president of the Education and Child Development department at NORC at the University of Chicago.
Hamilton specializes in evaluation methodology, with a focus on the design and implementation of formative, mixed method, and rigorous experimental and quasi-experimental designs. With this particular specialization, Hamilton will work to create innovative solutions to the weighty education issues affecting the nation.
In addition to her thorough understanding of the field and her methodological background, Hamilton is an accomplished manager and leader with a successful track record working in partnership with a wide range of institutions, including federal, state, and local boards of education, foundations, and for-profit and nonprofit establishments. She has a demonstrated ability to hold all project work to the highest standards of ethics, rigor, and transparency. She is known for establishing a business culture focused on results so that clients’ goals are achieved and celebrated.
“We’re delighted to have Jennifer Hamilton as part of our team,” said Shazia Miller, the senior vice president of NORC’s Education and Child Development department. “Her work designing and directing evaluations on a wide range of educational programs and initiatives has guided critical programmatic and policy decisions at both the local and national levels.”
Prior to joining NORC, Hamilton was a senior study director at Westat. While there, she led a diverse portfolio of projects, including the formative evaluation of New York City’s historic Pre-K For All initiative, evaluations of reading and writing curricula for Scholastic and Houghton Mifflin Hardcourt, and an equity analysis for Chicago Public Schools.
Hamilton also brings her formidable leadership to NORC, fostering collaboration across teams of researchers and building networks of experts that work together to improve an organization’s ability to effect positive change.
“Now, more than ever, our education system is in need of rigorous evaluation to ensure we identify and spread the best ways of educating the next generation,” said Hamilton. “I am looking forward to collaborating with the experts at NORC to foster positive change. We will work together to help policymakers and practitioners across the country make informed and data-driven decisions.”
With 25 years in the field, Hamilton is an active board member and past-president of the Eastern Evaluation Research Society where she served two terms as president and two terms as program chair. Hamilton is also a peer reviewer for multiple journals and is a certified What Works Clearinghouse reviewer. Hamilton earned her PhD from the University of Maryland where her work focused on evaluation, measurement, and statistics. She is also a graduate of George Washington University, with an MA in education policy and human development.
“Her work designing and directing evaluations on a wide range of educational programs and initiatives has guided critical programmatic and policy decisions at both the local and national levels.”
About NORC at the University of Chicago
NORC at the University of Chicago conducts research and analysis that decision-makers trust. As a nonpartisan research organization and a pioneer in measuring and understanding the world, we have studied almost every aspect of the human experience and every major news event for more than eight decades. Today, we partner with government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world to provide the objectivity and expertise necessary to inform the critical decisions facing society.
Contact: For more information, please contact Eric Young at NORC at young-eric@norc.org or (703) 217-6814 (cell).