I tried out a new conference last week-- the American Education Finance Association annual meeting, which was held in Nashville. And while it took awhile to get used to being around so many economists (I'm kidding, just kidding...), I was struck by all of the incredibly bright folks around me, and how many of the junior ones I'd never heard of. It really is so exciting to see where education scholarship is going, with all of these cool 30/40 year-olds running around now!So I thought I'd highlight a few, in the hopes that others of you will keep an eye on their work too. Here we go, in no particular order:
1. Peter Hinrichs-- Assistant Professor, Georgetown Public Policy Institute. Peter gave the best presentation I heard all week, on a very cool paper about the effects of affirmative action bans. He's clearly got his eye on what matters and how to make snazzy little econometric tricks useful.
2. Tammy Kolbe-- Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies, FSU. Tammy is a former Abt gal and AERA/IES postdoc, and she's bringing lots of real world experience to her teaching and research. This woman is a treasure trove of useful information, let me tell you!
3. Judy Scott-Clayton-- Soon-to-be Assistant Professor, Teachers College. I can't tell you how psyched I am that the Community College Research Center is getting a scholar with the chops and pizzaz of Judy. She's done a nifty dissertation on West Virginia that highlights and lowlights all that is merit aid. Plus, you gotta give a girl props for being this insanely bright and productive while raising a toddler.
Next year AEFA will be in Richmond VA-- I know I'll be there, and hope you will too!