Dr. Adam Gamoran Nominated by Biden as Next IES Director

On September 9, President Biden nominated Dr. Adam Gamoran as the next Director of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). If confirmed, Gamoran would replace the current Acting Director, Dr. Matthew Soldner, who has been serving since the departure of Dr. Mark Schneider in April 2024.

Gamoran is a sociologist with a PhD from the University of Wisconsin who currently serves as the President of the William T. Grant Foundation, a charity organization dedicated to research that improves the lives of young people. Before his role at the William T. Grant Foundation, Gamoran held the John D. MacArthur Chair in Sociology and Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. While at UW-Madison, Gamoran held a myriad of positions, including the director of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, chair of the sociology department, and interim dean of the School of Education. He is also a member of the National Academy of Education and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Gamoran has also completed two appointments with the National Board of Education Sciences (NBES) under the Obama Administration and chaired the Independent Advisory Panel of the National Assessment of Career and Technical Education for the U.S. Department of Education.

Gamoran’s nomination requires Senate confirmation and has yet to be scheduled. Stay tuned to COSSA’s continued coverage of the confirmation process.