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We are delighted to announce that the 2022 Peter H. Rossi Award for Contributions to the Theory or Practice of Program Evaluation has been given to Dr. Bridget Terry Long.

Dr. Long is Dean and Saris Professor of Education and Economics at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). A member of the HGSE faculty since 2000, Dr. Long is an economist whose work focuses on improving educational opportunity and student success. Her studies have provided evidence on the effectiveness of financial aid policies, postsecondary remedial education, and support programs on educational attainment. She has also developed and tested interventions that aim to provide students with information and assistance to support important educational activities, such as completing financial aid forms, saving for college, and persisting in higher education. As one of her nominators wrote: “Dr. Long has also been an important voice of support for applying rigorous evaluation methods to reduce racial disparities in student outcomes and the country's education systems.“

Dr. Long is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and was elected to the National Academy of Education and the International Academy of Education. She is also the Chair of Board of Directors for MDRC, a nonprofit social policy research organization, an affiliate of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), and a member of the Board for the Red Sox Foundation. During the Obama administration, she served as Chair of National Board for Education Sciences, the advisory panel of the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education.

Since becoming Dean of HGSE in 2018, Dr. Long has led the school through the implementation of their redesigned master's program, the pivot to remote education during AY20-21, and the introduction of a new online degree, along with expanding HGSE's external engagement and partnerships. As another nominator noted: “Dr. Long is also building the capacity of the program evaluation field in her role as Dean of HGSE. For example, this year the Harvard Graduate School of Education instituted its first required course in evidence use for all 600+ of their master's students. This provides future leaders in education policy and practice with frameworks and tools to evaluate the quality and relevance of several different types of evidence that education practitioners are likely to encounter in their careers.“

Dr. Long has testified numerous times before U.S. Senate Committees and state governmental bodies. She has won numerous research grants, including major awards from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, and the National Science Foundation (NSF). She earned her Ph.D. and M.A. from the Harvard University Department of Economics and her A.B. from Princeton University in Economics with a Certificate in Afro-American Studies.

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