James Walter Fraser is an American educationalist, pastor, and academic administrator. He is a professor of history and education and chair of the applied statistics, social science, and humanities department at the

Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development The New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development (commonly referred to as Steinhardt) is the secondary liberal arts and education school of New York University. It is one of the only schools in the world of i ...

. Fraser is dean of education at the University of the People. He is a past president of the

History of Education Society The History of Education Society is an "international scholarly society devoted to promoting and teaching the history of education across institutions." The Society was founded in 1960. Its journal is the ''History of Education Quarterly''. Hist ...

. Fraser was the pastor at Grace Church Federated from 1986 to 2006.

Education

Fraser completed a B.A. in American History at

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

in June 1966. He earned an elementary school teaching credential in August 1968 from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. Fraser graduated,

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

, in May 1970 with a M.Div. in Religious History from Union Theological Seminary. He earned a Ph.D. in the History of American Education from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in May 1975.

Career

Fraser was a elementary school teacher at public school 76 in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

from 1968 to 1970. He was a teaching assistant at

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

from 1970 to 1972. From 1972 to 1978, Fraser was an associate pastor at the Church of the Covenant. Fraser was a research fellow at the

Auburn Theological Seminary Auburn Theological Seminary, located in New York City, teaches students about progressive social issues by offering workshops, providing consulting, and conducting research on faith leadership development. The seminary was established in Auburn, N ...

from 1974 to 1977. He was an assistant professor of education at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

from 1976 to 1978. Fraser was an assistant professor of religion and education from 1978 to 1984 at

Boston University School of Theology Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) is the oldest theological seminary of American Methodism and the founding school of Boston University, the largest private research university in New England. It is one of thirteen theological school ...

. He was chair of the religion and social sciences department from 1979 to 1982. At the

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus Un ...

College of Public and Community Service Fraser, was an assistant and then associate professor from 1984 to 1990. He was director of advising from 1984 to 1987 and director of assessment from 1987 to 1990. Fraser was a senior associate in the John W. McCormack Institute for Public Affairs from 1984 to 1993. He was an adjunct associate professor in the school of education at

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

from 1984 to 1993. From 1986 to 2006, Fraser served as the pastor of Grace Church Federated, a

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...

and Episcopal Church. Fraser was professor of education and dean of educational studies and public policy at

Lesley College Lesley University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. As of 2018-19 Lesley University enrolled 6,593 students (2,707 undergraduate and 3,886 graduate). History ...

from 1990 to 1993. From 1993 to 2006, Fraser was a professor of history and education at

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

. From 1993 to 1999, he was director of the center for innovation in urban education. From 1999 to 2004, Fraser was the founding dean of the Northeastern University School of Education. Fraser joined the faculty at the

in 2006 as a professor of history and education. He was senior vice president for programs of the Woodrow Wilson national fellowship foundation from 2008 to 2012. In 2015, he became chair of the department of applied statistics, social science, and humanities at Steinhardt. Fraser was president of the

from 2013 to 2014. Fraser is dean of education at the University of the People.

Personal life

Fraser is married to Kathrine Hanson and resides in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He has 4 children.

Selected works

* * * * * * * * * Reviews of ''Preparing America's Teachers'': * * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, James W. Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) University of California, Santa Barbara alumni Union Theological Seminary (New York City) alumni Columbia University alumni Wellesley College faculty Boston University School of Theology faculty University of Massachusetts Boston faculty Lesley University faculty Northeastern University faculty Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development faculty University of the People faculty Educational researchers American historians of education United Church of Christ ministers 20th-century American clergy 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American clergy Educational administrators