W. Norton Grubb

Norton Grubb
W. Norton Grubb
University of California, Berkeley

W. Norton Grubb, who passed away in 2015, investigated inequality, especially the institutional sources of inequality, and worked toward finding solutions to create an equitable and democratic education system. Grubb was professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley. His research explored the role of education in labor markets and proposed ways to improve the effectiveness of high schools and community colleges. He also examined the relationship between education and employment, pointing out that when schools excessively follow patterns in the labor market, they tend to reinforce the inequities of society against minorities and women. He wrote 14 books; started the Principal Leadership Institute at Berkeley to train principals to lead urban schools; and received the University of California, Berkeley, Chancellor’s Award for Advancing Institutional Excellence. He received his PhD in economics from Harvard University.

updated 2012

Publications by W. Norton Grubb
Their Heterogeneity and Readiness
In the sixth of eleven PACE Working Papers, W. Norton Grubb et al. continue their analysis of basic skills education in California Community Colleges. When one observes many developmental classrooms, the most striking aspect is the heterogeneity of…
Chaffey College’s Long Journey to Success
Chaffey College, a three campus college with approximately 20,000 students located California’s Inland Empire, has become the destination of many community college practitioners from around the country. The reason why? Over the past ten years, the…
Their Possibilities and Limits
In the fourth of eleven PACE Working Papers, W. Norton Grubb et al, continue their analysis of basic skills education in California Community Colleges. Community colleges provide a substantial array of student support services, designed to help…
The Landscape and the Locus of Change
In the third of eleven PACE Working Papers, W. Norton Grubb et al, continue their analysis of basic skills education in California Community Colleges. Community colleges are full of innovation in developmental education, and some of these have the…