Sarofian-Butin placed 119th on the list, between educators from George Washington University and Harvard University.
“I am honored to be among the top 200 education scholars recognized for their influence in the public sphere,” Sarofian-Butin said. “I deeply believe in the idea of public scholarship — bridging theory and practice — and glad that such recognition highlights the importance of academics working to be a part of the national policy conversation.”
Institute Director of Education Policy Frederick M. Hess publishes the rankings annually to list university scholars who make significant contributions to national debates on public education. Using nine metrics, Hess calculates how much university-based academics move ideas from academic journals into the national conversation.
“One small way to encourage academics to step into the fray and revisit academic norms is, I think, by doing more to recognize and value those scholars who engage in public discourse,” explained Hess. “These results offer insight into how scholars in a field of public concern are influencing thinking and the national discourse.”
More than 50 universities claimed a spot in the top 200. Stanford (5), Harvard (3), the University of Pennsylvania (2), the University of Virginia (2) and UCLA (2) placed multiple scholars in the top 20, and Harvard topped all other universities with 25 scholars ranked.
Sarofian-Butin served as dean of the School of Education and Social Policy for six years before returning to the faculty.
