Ben Wildavsky is a Senior Scholar in Research and Policy at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. He is the author of the recently released The Great Brain Race, a book about the globalisation of higher education. He joined the Kauffman Foundation following an 18-year career as a Writer and Editor specializing in education and public policy. Most recently, he was Education Editor of U.S. News & World Report, where he was the Top Editor of America's Best Colleges and America's Best Graduate Schools and oversaw several award-winning cover stories.
Previously, Wildavsky was budget, tax, and trade correspondent for National Journal, higher education reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, and executive editor of the Public Interest. His articles and reviews have also appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic , The Christian Science Monitor, The Weekly Standard, Commentary, and other publications. He was the lead author of the U.S. News Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Teacher. As a Consultant to national education reformers, Wildavsky has written and edited several influential reports, including A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of Higher Education, which was issued in September 2006 by the Federal Commission on the Future of Higher Education.
In addition to numerous media appearances, he has spoken at meetings of the American Council on Education, the Association of American Universities, the College Board, the Education Trust, the Milken Family Foundation, and other organizations. Wildavsky graduated from Yale University (Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude). He was a media fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution in 2004, 2005, and 2006, and is currently a Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution.