Florence Xiaotao Ran is an assistant professor specializing in higher education policy in the School of Education at the University of Delaware. One strand of her research focuses on instructor quality in postsecondary education institutions and the implications of a more diversified academic labor force, including the impacts of contingent faculty on student academic and labor market outcomes, the impacts of faculty professional development, and the effects of female faculty and faculty of color. She also conducts research to examine the impacts of various educational pathways, programs, interventions, and instructional practices on students’ course performance, persistence, degree completion, and labor market outcomes.
Ran earned a PhD in economics and education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She also holds a BA in economics from Renmin University of China and an MA in economic policy analysis from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Prior to joining CCRC, Ran worked as quantitative research assistant at the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research.
