Katharine O. Strunk is a professor of education policy and, by courtesy, economics, and the Clifford E. Erickson Distinguished Chair in Education and the faculty director of the Michigan State University Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC). She is also president-elect of the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP). Strunk’s current research through EPIC is focused on working with local and state education agencies on studies that will help them inform policy and practice. Rooted in the fields of economics and public policy, Strunk’s work centers on structures that are central to district operations and policy and the ways these structures affect policymakers’ decisions and outcomes. Her research focuses on three areas under the broad umbrella of K-12 education governance: teachers’ unions and the collective bargaining agreements they negotiate with school districts, teacher labor markets and accountability policies. Strunk’s most recent work includes studying teacher labor market responses to policy reforms in Michigan, teacher, school and district accountability and support policies in the Los Angeles Unified School District and throughout Michigan, and portfolio management reforms in Los Angeles, Denver and New Orleans.
