Aristotle said, “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” Education policy is complex, complicated, and, at times, frustrating. But knowing our work shapes institutional, state, and federal policies that help millions of underserved students’ educational pursuits makes it worthwhile.
Bryan J. Cook is director for higher education policy in the Center on Education Data and Policy at the Urban Institute. He oversees Urban’s higher education policy agenda and manages researchers who conduct analysis and develop analytical tools to inform and influence federal and state higher education policy.
Before joining Urban, Cook was vice president of data and policy analysis for the Association of Public Land-grant Universities, providing leadership and strategic vision to advance the development and application of data, research, and analyses to support the association’s programmatic initiatives and federal policy priorities. Cook has also served as senior vice president for educational research and analysis at the American Dental Education Association and director of the Center for Policy Analysis at the American Council on Education.
Cook received his BA in urban and regional planning from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He holds an MEd and a PhD from the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at the University of Michigan.
