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Susan Marie Dynarski is an American economist who is currently professor of
education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Var ...
at the
Harvard Graduate School of Education The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, it was the first school to grant the EdD degree and the first Harvard schoo ...
. She is also a faculty research associate of the
National Bureau of Economic Research The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic c ...
.


Early life and education

Dynarski earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in social studies from
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
; neither of her parents graduated college. She then worked as a union organizer for six years, engaged in successful certification campaigns for clerical and technical employees at Harvard University and the University of Minnesota, before returning to Harvard for a
Master of Public Policy The Master of Public Policy (MPP), is one of several public policy degrees. An MPP is a master's-level professional degree that provides training in policy analysis and program evaluation at public policy schools. The MPP program places a focus o ...
degree and then earning a Ph.D. in Economics from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
.


Career

Dynarski began her academic career as an assistant and associate professor at the
Kennedy School The Kennedy School, originally the John D. Kennedy Elementary School, is a former elementary school that has been converted to a hotel, movie theater and dining establishment in northeast Portland, Oregon. The facility is operated by the McMena ...
at Harvard University. She has been a visiting fellow at the
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, commonly known as the Boston Fed, is responsible for the First District of the Federal Reserve, which covers New England: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and all of Connecticut exc ...
and a visiting faculty member at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...
. From 2008 to 2021, she was a professor of
public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public ...
,
education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Var ...
and economics at the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, where she was a University Professor of Diversity and Social Transformation and co-director of the University's Education Policy Initiative.


Research

Dynarski's research focuses on the impact of
financial aid Student financial aid in the United States is funding that is available exclusively to students attending a post-secondary educational institution in the United States. This funding is used to assist in covering the many costs incurred in the p ...
on college students and their families, improving the design of such programs to achieve the greatest benefit to students (particularly those from low-income families) at the lowest cost to taxpayers, the effectiveness of
charter schools A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of auto ...
, and the impact of price on
private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...
attendance decisions. She has held editorial positions at ''American Economic Journal: Economic Policy'', '' Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis'', '' The Journal of Labor Economics'' and '' Education Finance and Policy''. She has been a board member of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, and is past president of the Association for Education Finance and Policy and Midwest Economics Association. She has been awarded the "Public Service Matters" award from the
Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration The Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization. It is an international association of public affairs schools (schools of public policy and administration) at univer ...
(NASPAA) for her work on college affordability and student debt, the Robert P. Huff Golden Quill Award from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators for her research on student aid, and the Spencer Foundation Award for her research on education policy. In 2020 she was awarded a
Carnegie Fellowship The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...
. In 2013 she and co-authors Joshua Hyman and Diane Schanzenbach were awarded the Raymond Vernon Memorial Award for the best article in the
Journal of Policy Analysis and Management The ''Journal of Policy Analysis and Management'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering issues and practices in policy analysis and public management. It was established in 1981 and contains books reviews and a department devoted t ...
.


Selected works

* Susan Dynarski, Katherine Michelmore, CJ Libassi, and Stephanie Owen (2018)
"Closing the Gap: The Effect of a Targeted, Tuition-Free Promise on College Choices of High-Achieving, Low-Income Students"
NBER Working Paper 25349. * * * * Dynarski, S. (2002). The behavioral and distributional implications of aid for college. ''American Economic Review'', 92(2), pp. 279–285. * Dynarski, S. et al. (1997). Can families smooth variable earnings? ''Brookings Papers on Economic Activity'', 1997(1), pp. 229–303. * Angrist, J.D. et al. (2012). Who benefits from KIPP? ''Journal of Policy Analysis and Management'', 31(4), pp. 837–860. * Deming, D., Dynarski, S. (2008). The lengthening of childhood. ''Journal of Economic Perspectives'', 22(3), pp. 71–92. * Angrist, J.D. et al. (2016). Inputs and impacts in charter schools: KIPP Lynn. ''American Economic Review'', 100(2), pp. 239–243. * Angrist, J.D. et al. (2013). Stand and deliver: Effects of Boston's charter high schools on college preparation, entry, and choice. ''Journal of Labor Economics'', 34(2), pp. 275–318.


Public impact

Dynarski has testified before the US
Senate Finance Committee The United States Senate Committee on Finance (or, less formally, Senate Finance Committee) is a standing committee of the United States Senate. The Committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures generall ...
, the
United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) generally considers matters relating to these issues. Its jurisdiction also extends beyond these issues to include several more specific areas, as defined by Sena ...
, the
House Ways and Means Committee The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other program ...
, the
United States House Committee on Education and Labor The Committee on Education and Labor is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 50 members in this committee. Since 2019, the chair of the Education and Labor committee is Robert Cortez Scott of Virginia. Hi ...
, and the
President's Advisory Panel for Federal Tax Reform On January 7, 2005, President George W. Bush announced the establishment of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, a bipartisan panel to advise on options to reform the United States income tax code to make it simpler, fairer, and mo ...
. She advocates for simplifying the
FAFSA The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form completed by current and prospective college students (undergraduate and graduate) in the United States to determine their eligibility for student financial aid. The FAFSA is differ ...
(Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to help more low-income students in the United States attend college. She has advised the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the State of New York, the 12 northern counties of New ...
, the
Federal Reserve Board of Governors The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, commonly known as the Federal Reserve Board, is the main governing body of the Federal Reserve System. It is charged with overseeing the Federal Reserve Banks and with helping implement the mon ...
, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 ...
, the
United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
, the
United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departme ...
, and the
Council of Economic Advisers The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is a United States agency within the Executive Office of the President established in 1946, which advises the President of the United States on economic policy. The CEA provides much of the empirical resea ...
on potential student aid reforms. She is a contributing columnist for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. ''
The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to rea ...
'' named her one of the "top ten influencers and agitators of 2015," calling her "The Sensible Explainer." Senator
Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is a retired American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee from ...
cited her research in his advocacy to simplify the FAFSA, which was signed into law as part of the December 2020 U.S. Budget Act.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dynarski, Susan American women economists 20th-century American economists 21st-century American economists University of Michigan faculty Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy faculty Faculty Living people Harvard College alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences alumni Education economists Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American women 21st-century American women Brookings Institution people