A Professor of Education Reform and Public Policy since 2000, Dr. Ritter is also the Director and Founder of the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas. The goal of the Office for Education Policy is to be a resource that aids state legislators, school board members and other policymakers in thoughtful decision-making concerning K-12 education in the State of Arkansas.

Currently, his primary area of interest is the development of alternative strategies for teacher compensation in public schools. His research interests also include program evaluation, school finance, standards-based and accountability-based school reform, and racial segregation in schools. Gary currently teaches courses in Education Policy, Assessment of Educational Outcomes, Program Evaluation and Research Methods to graduate students.

His work has been published in various outlets, including Phi Delta Kappan, Review of Educational Research, Education Finance and Policy, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, the Journal of Education Finance, the American Review of Public Administration, the International Journal of Testing, the Georgetown Public Policy Review, Black Issues in Higher Education, Education Next and Education Week.

A graduate of John Carroll University with a degree in finance, Dr. Ritter earned an M.A. in Social Policy from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, an M.A. in Public Policy from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in Education Policy from Penn’s Graduate School of Education.

Dr. Ritter’s committee work will be focused on the research sessions at PromiseNet 2014.