Josh Cowen

Josh Cowen is a nationally recognized expert and writer on topics related to school choice, teachers and teaching, policy analysis, and education politics. He has studied school vouchers, school accountability, charter schools, and parental decision-making as part of major research teams in Louisiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. His writing on school vouchers, culture wars, and other current events has appeared in major media outlets ranging from Slate to Time Magazine. He speaks and testifies across the country on the dangers of school privatization and is regularly quoted in state and national feature reporting.

In addition to his appointment as professor of education policy at Michigan State University, Dr. Cowen has also served as one of five national directors of the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH) based at Tulane University. In 2016, he founded the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC), a strategic research partnership between Michigan State University and the state of Michigan. He has held a variety of editorial positions for major academic journals, and was co-editor of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis—the premier education policy journal in the United States. His research has been funded through federal, state and local government contracts, as well as a diverse array of philanthropies such as Arnold Ventures, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Spencer Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.

Josh Cowen holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University, and a B.A. in history from the University of Michigan. Before beginning his research and writing career, he worked in CNN’s Washington, D.C. Bureau and on staff for the political debate show Crossfire.