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Thomas Brock

Director
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Thomas Brock became the director of the Community College Research Center in September 2018, bringing more than 25 years of experience in education and social welfare research to CCRC. He is also a research professor at Teachers College.

From 2013 to 2018, Brock was the commissioner of the National Center for Education Research (NCER) at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). As the leader of NCER, Brock spearheaded a comprehensive research program around improving educational outcomes for students of all ages while focusing more of the center’s work on postsecondary research. He also planned and launched national research centers and networks dedicated to topics such as college completion, developmental education, and career and technical education.

In January 2017, former Education Secretary John King delegated to Brock the duties of director of IES. Brock served in the role for more than a year, overseeing IES’s centers on research, evaluation, and statistics and the release of several major reports.

Prior to his work for the U.S. Department of Education, Brock spent nearly a decade as the head of the postsecondary education division of MDRC, capping more than 20 years at the independent social policy research organization. At MDRC, he was involved in evaluations of major community college reforms, including the Opening Doors Demonstration and Completion by Design. He worked closely with CCRC on several large-scale initiatives, including the IES-funded National Center for Postsecondary Research and an evaluation of the Achieving the Dream initiative.

Brock’s writing has appeared in several policy journals and reports, including New Directions for Community Colleges, Future of Children, and the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. He sits on the Board of Trustees at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, and between 2016 and 2018 represented the U.S. on the Governing Board of the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation of the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris.

Brock earned his BA in anthropology from Pitzer College and holds an MPA from Columbia University and a PhD in social welfare from UCLA.

June 2024

Pandemic Relief Spending and Recovery Strategies: Findings From a Survey of Community Colleges in Six States

This book chapter explores the personal support networks and help-seeking preferences of immigrant-origin, first-generation-in-college students (FGCS) as part of a three-year longitudinal mixed-methods study with FGCSs at four public Hispanic-serving institutions in California.
March 2024

Lessons From Two Major Evaluations of Guided Pathways

This brief discusses findings and implications from two recent large studies of guided pathways that examined the scale at which colleges have implemented reforms and the association between adopted practices and early student outcomes.
March 2024

How HEER Funding Rescued Community Colleges From the Pandemic

Using financial data from IPEDS, this ARCC Network brief examines what happened to community college revenue and student aid during the pandemic and assesses the importance of Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEER) funding for community colleges and their students.
November 2023

How Important Are Community Colleges in Promoting STEM?

This report argues that a more inclusive definition of STEM that accounts for STEM-oriented technical training programs would better represent the contribution community colleges make to STEM education and the STEM workforce.
April 2022

Preparing for Tomorrow’s Middle-Skill Jobs: How Community Colleges Are Responding to Technology Innovation in the Workplace

Based on fieldwork at eight institutions, this report describes how community colleges are responding to workplace technology innovation by adapting their workforce programming, diversifying pathways to certificates and degrees, and addressing equity concerns.
December 2021

Catastrophe or Catalyst? Reflections on COVID’s Impact on Community Colleges

This essay discusses how students and community colleges responded to the pandemic and what their experiences reveal about inequities in higher education.
May 2021

Strategies for Improving Postsecondary Credential Attainment Among Black, Hispanic, and Native American Adults

This set of three studies examines what states and community colleges can do to address the needs of racially minoritized adult learners who are pursuing postsecondary education and training as a path to re-employment, better jobs, and higher incomes.
May 2020

Exploring the State of the Humanities in Community Colleges

This paper discusses what is known about humanities coursework in community colleges, outlines key challenges facing humanities education in this sector, and considers approaches to addressing these challenges
April 2019

Mixed-Methods Research Through the Lens of a Funding Agency

In this piece for the Teachers College Record, CCRC Director Thomas Brock describes how mixed methods may be used in education research and offers advice to researchers who are seeking funding from IES for mixed methods studies.
January 2011

Turning the Tide: Five Years of Achieving the Dream in Community Colleges

This interim report examines the experiences of the first 26 colleges to join Achieving the Dream, which helps community colleges collect and analyze student performance data to increase student success.
May 2007

Building a Culture of Evidence for Community College Student Success: Early Progress in the Achieving the Dream Initiative

This report describes the early progress that the first 27 Achieving the Dream colleges made after one year of implementation.
June 2024

How Community Colleges Spent Pandemic Relief Funds and What’s Next

March 2024

Lessons from Guided Pathways: Removing Obstacles and Clarifying Pathways in the Post-Pandemic Recovery

January 2021

The Road Ahead for Community Colleges: Examining Enrollment, Completion, Purpose, and Value

May 2019

Discussion of the Implications of Career Pathways Findings for Practice and Research

Recent Publications

June 2024

Pandemic Relief Spending and Recovery Strategies: Findings From a Survey of Community Colleges in Six States

March 2024

Lessons From Two Major Evaluations of Guided Pathways

March 2024

How HEER Funding Rescued Community Colleges From the Pandemic

November 2023

How Important Are Community Colleges in Promoting STEM?

Recent Presentations

June 2024

How Community Colleges Spent Pandemic Relief Funds and What’s Next

March 2024

Lessons from Guided Pathways: Removing Obstacles and Clarifying Pathways in the Post-Pandemic Recovery

January 2021

The Road Ahead for Community Colleges: Examining Enrollment, Completion, Purpose, and Value

May 2019

Discussion of the Implications of Career Pathways Findings for Practice and Research

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