Ruth Lopez Turley, Professor of Sociology at Rice University and Director of the Houston Education Research Consortium
"Advancing Equity through Research-Practice Partnerships"
There is growing interest in producing research that directly informs policy and practice in order to advance equity in education. This talk will highlight current efforts, recurring challenges, and possible solutions.
Bio: Ruth Turley’s work aims to improve the connection between education research and policy/practice. In 2011, she founded the Houston Education Research Consortium (HERC), a research-practice partnership between Rice University and 10 Houston-area school districts, representing almost 750,000 students. HERC’s research agenda is jointly developed with district leaders, and research findings are shared directly with decision-makers, with the ultimate goal of improving educational equity. In 2015, Dr. Turley founded the National Network of Education Research-Practice Partnerships (NNERPP), which supports, develops, and connects RPPs throughout the country. There are currently 30 member partnerships representing cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. To date, she has raised over $25M in research grants for this work. Dr. Turley has served in various elected and appointed positions in national associations such as the American Educational Research Association, the American Sociological Association, and the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness. She also served on the Texas State Board of Education’s Long-Range Plan for Public Education Steering Committee. She completed her undergraduate work at Stanford University (1996) and her graduate work at Harvard University (1999, 2001). She was a first-generation college student, originally from Laredo, Texas.