Biography
Judith A. Wilde is a research professor in the Schar School of Policy and Government; previously, she served as the founding chief operating officer/senior associate dean for the Schar School. Previous higher education experience includes the George Washington University, New Mexico Highlands University, and the University of New Mexico. She has taught graduate-level courses in higher-level statistics, evaluation, and grant writing.
Professor Wilde’s current work focuses on two government-funded projects. She serves as Principal Investigator for the JCOIN (Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network) Rapid Innovation Grants (J-RIG), a rapid-funding mechanism supporting small grants to study newly emerging policies, practices, or interventions that address prevention and addiction in justice settings. JCOIN is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) through the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long Term (HEAL) initiative to George Mason University (PI: Faye Taxman, 2019-2024). In addition, she serves as the administrative PI on the Department of Defense-funded MINERVA grant, A Nested Mixed-Method Approach to Armed Non-State Actor Governance and the Rule of Law (Research PI: Desmond Arias, 2017-2023).
In addition, she is frequently interviewed by reporters and writes articles for various local and national publications regarding the use of search firms when universities and colleges seek a new president/chancellor, the contracts and salaries of those presidents/chancellors, and the exit agreements that presidents/chancellors negotiate when they step down.
Much of Professor Wilde’s past work has focused on technical assistance, professional development, research, and evaluation related to English learners and other students at risk of educational failure. She has worked with local school districts to develop projects funded by grants from federal programs such as the National Professional Development Program, the Native American/Alaska Native Children in Schools Program, the 21stCentury Community Learning Center program, Reading Excellence, and the Safe Schools-Healthy Students initiative.
Her work over the years has included consultancies with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition and Office of Indian Education; the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General; the Council of the Great City Schools and the National Council of State Legislatures; and the World-class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Consortium. Most recently, she served as the executive director of the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (NCELA) and the vice president for recognition of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
Professor Wilde holds a PhD in educational foundations (research, evaluation, statistics, assessment) from the University of New Mexico, an MAT for secondary education from the Claremont Graduate School and University Center, and a BA in European thought and culture from Scripps College.
Areas of Research
- Public University Presidents’ Compensation
- Use of Search Firms in Hiring Presidents and Provosts at Public Universities
- Education of K-16 English Learners
- Design and Evaluation of Professional Development