Ellen Goldring

Ellen Goldring is the Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Education Leadership and Policy, and Vice Dean for Peabody College at Vanderbilt University. Her research focuses on the intersection of education policy and school improvement, emphasizing educational leadership. She examines the implementation and effects of school leadership practices and initiatives such as professional development, coaching, and performance feedback. Goldring has offered significant insights into the roles of assistant principals and on school district and central office redesign for building and sustaining principal pipelines and career pathways to effective school leadership. She has co-authored or co-edited nine books and nearly 100 peer-reviewed articles, as well as 33 research and policy reports. Goldring is a fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and served as editor-in-chief of the American Educational Research Journal from 2019 to 2024. She was vice president of AERA’s Division L, Politics and Policy, in 2013. In 2016, she received the Roald F. Campbell Lifetime Achievement Award from the University Council of Educational Administration. In 2025, she was elected to the National Academy of Education. Goldring earned her PhD in education from the University of Chicago. 

updated 2025