David Drew

David E. Drew holds the Joseph B. Platt Chair in the Management of Technology. His principal appointment is in the School of Educational Studies, where his teaching focuses on data analytics, statistical analysis, and model building. For 10 years Drew served as dean of the School of Educational Studies.

Prior to joining the CGU faculty, he was a senior information scientist at the RAND corporation. Prior to that, he held senior research positions at the National Research Council and the American Council on Education. Earlier he held a research faculty position at Harvard University, from which he received his PhD, and served as head applications programmer at the Harvard Computing Center.

He is the author of more than 200 publications, including nine books, about a) the improvement of mathematics and science instruction at all levels of education, b) the development and evaluation of effective undergraduate programs, c) building strong university research programs, and d) health education. These publications include a book reporting an evaluation he directed of a billion-dollar National Science Foundation program, a RAND report for the White House about federal funding of biomedical research, and a book about how to increase research productivity in the nation’s universities.

When the National University of Singapore celebrated its 100-year anniversary and hosted an international conference about education and globalization, Drew was invited to give the keynote speech. In the past few years, he has been a consultant or advisor to the senior leadership of the College Board, the Los Angeles Police Department, Patagonia (an international clothing company), and the Nevada Higher Education System.

Drew’s research interests focus on social justice and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). He has identified discriminatory barriers that prevent many marginalized students from accessing STEM courses and has worked with school districts, colleges, and universities on programs that remove those barriers and facilitate both student access and student success. His book STEM the Tide: Reforming Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education in America is published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

He presently is writing two books. The first, tentatively titled Creating Technology As Though Human Beings Mattered, draws upon his background in computer science and in sociology. He discusses both the positive and the negative transformational changes in society brought by digital technology and argues that we are reaching a tipping point after which the negative effects, for example the impact on social inequality, will outweigh the positive effects. The second, tentatively titled Our Days Are Numbered, is a novel set in academia about the forces reshaping higher education and about the nature and meaning of time.