The University of Maryland has named Jennifer King Rice, Ph.D., as Dean of the College of Education, effective July 1, 2017. As dean, Rice will lead the College in developing a clear identity, vision, and strategy to advance inspired learning and develop positive solutions to today’s most pressing education issues.

“I am very enthusiastic about the future of the College of Education under Dr. Rice’s leadership,” said Mary Ann Rankin, UMD’s senior vice president and provost. “She has a clear vision for the college, a deep commitment to excellence, transparency, and collaboration and a tremendously effective personal management style. She will be a great dean and university leader. I look forward eagerly to working with her.”        

Rice joined UMD’s College of Education in 1995 as an assistant professor, and currently serves as associate dean for graduate studies and faculty affairs, and professor of education policy. She was the founding director of UMD’s Center for Educational Policy and Leadership, during which time she established important relationships with policy research organizations. 

“Being a part of the College of Education has been a remarkable experience over the past twenty years, and now being able to serve in this new role as dean is a true honor,” says Rice. “I look forward to working with the very talented faculty, staff and students in the College to drive our work forward in being a center for cutting-edge research in education, and developing the next generation of educators for our state and nation.”

Rice has served with distinction in many roles at UMD, including the University Senate; chair of the campus Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure Committee; an ADVANCE professorship; the President’s Commission Task Force on Innovations and Efficiencies in Administrative Services; and chair of the Graduate School Review Committee. She has consulted with state and federal organizations, including the Maryland State Department of Education, the Maryland State Attorney General’s Office, and the U.S. Dept. of Education, where she served two terms on the National Center for Education Statistics Technical Planning Panel on Education Finance.

Prior to joining UMD, Rice conducted research at Mathematica Policy Research in Washington, D.C., and at the Finance Center of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at Cornell University.

Drawing on her grounding in economics, finance, and public policy and a deep commitment to equity, Rice’s research is focused on how to most efficiently acquire and allocate resources to provide equitable and adequate educational opportunities for all students. Her work has provided conceptual frameworks and empirical evidence on various education policies, and her most recent work focuses on the policies and resources needed to staff all schools with high quality educators.

Rice is past president of the Association for Education Finance and Policy; and has been a Fellow with the National Education Policy Center; the Big Ten Academic Alliance; the Urban Institute; and the National Academy of Education and Spencer Foundation.  She received the Exceptional Scholarship Award from the College of Education and the Outstanding Writing Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. She was recently recognized as a University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar-Teacher.

Rice earned her B.S. in mathematics and English at Marquette University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in education administration and social foundations at Cornell University.