WASHINGTON – Howard University and the School of Education are pleased to announce that Professor of Counseling Psychology Ivory Toldson, Ph.D. is ranked among the nation’s top 200 education professors as a member of Education Week’s Rick Hess Straight Up (RHSU) 2020 Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings. The annual list recognizes university-based scholars across the nation who are champions in shaping educational practice and policy. Out of the tens of thousands of qualified scholars, Toldson is tied for number 144, and is the only professor representing a Historically Black College or University (HBCU), for this year’s rankings.

The list spotlights the top 200 education scholars who, over the past year, have moved ideas from academic journals into the national conversation and was first posted today by Education Week blog, “Rick Hess Straight Up,” authored by American Enterprise Institute Director of Education Policy Studies and Education Week blogger, Frederick M. Hess, . He used nine metrics to calculate how much university-based academics contributed to public discussions on education. Hess says a small method of encouraging scholars to revisit academic norms is by doing more to recognize and value those engaged in public discourse.

"It's humbling see my name among so many educational scholars whom I've admire throughout my career,” Toldson explains. “The School of Education at Howard University, and the University at large, deserve much credit for shaping my scholarship and giving me the vehicle to use my research to advance policy, practice and advocacy. I'm also proud to represent the distinguished legacy of HBCU scholars who disrupt the status quo and conduct positive research on people of Black African descent."

Alongside his role at the University, Toldson is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Negro Education, and executive editor of the Journal of Policy Analysis and Research, published by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc.  He is also the president of Quality Education for Minorities, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit dedicated to improving the education of African-Americans, Alaska Natives, American Indians, Mexican Americans, and Puerto Ricans. 

Toldson is the author of “No BS (Bad Stats): Black People Need People Who Believe in Black People Enough to Not Believe Everything They Hear About Black People.” In the text, he uses data analysis, anecdotes, and powerful commentary to dispel common myths and challenge conventional beliefs about educating Black children. With provocative, engaging, and at times humorous prose, Toldson teaches how to avoid BS, raise expectations, and create an educational agenda for Black children that is based on good data, thoughtful analysis, and compassion.

For more information on the RHSU 2020 Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings, including the complete list of 200 featured scholars, visit http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rick_hess_straight_up/2020/01/the_2020_rh....

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ABOUT HOWARD UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 70 Fulbright Scholars. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.

Media contact: Ramzey Smith, Office of University Communications, ramzey.smith@howard.edu