Patrick Wolf

Distinguished Professor of Education Policy and 21st Century Endowed Chair in School Choice, University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions

Dr. Patrick J. Wolf is Distinguished Professor of Education Policy and 21st Century Endowed Chair in School Choice in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions. Previously he worked as a lobbyist for people with hearing impairments, a janitorial assistant, a state government administrator, and a pizza deliverer – though not necessarily in that order. As principal investigator of the School Choice Demonstration Project he has led or is leading major studies of school choice initiatives including longitudinal evaluations of school voucher programs in Washington, DC, Milwaukee, WI, and the state of Louisiana. Dr. Wolf’s research has been supported by research contracts and grants totaling over $20 million. He has authored, co-authored, or co-edited four books and over 100 journal articles, book chapters, and policy reports on school choice, civic values, special education, public management, and campaign finance. Most of his school choice research is available at http://www.uark.edu/ua/der/SCDP.html.

Dr. Wolf has been interviewed on National Public Radio four times and Milwaukee Public Radio twice. His school choice research has been discussed on ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, the CNN Morning Show with Paula Zahn, MSNBC, Fox News Special Report, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, ABC’s Larry Elders Radio Show, The New Republic, US News and World Report, The Economist, Washington Monthly, The Daily Caller, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Lingua Franca, The New York Times Review of Books, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Education Week, The International Herald Tribune, The Sunday Times of London, The New York Sun, The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, The Houston Chronicle, The New Orleans Times-Picayune, The St. Paul Pioneer Press, The St. Cloud Daily Times, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and many other media venues. Education Week continuously has ranked him among the top 100 most influential education policy academics nationally since 2010.

His 1997 article on Reinventing Government won the national Best Article Award of the Academy of Management, Division on Public and Nonprofit Management. He received the Significant Research Award of the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions in 2011. A 1987 graduate of the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN), he received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Harvard University in 1995.