Robert Calfee is a cognitive psychologist with interests in the effect of schooling on the intellectual potential of individuals and groups. He earned his degrees at UCLA, did post-graduate work at Stanford, and spent five years in Psychology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In 1969 he returned to Stanford University to join the School of Education. In 1998 Dr. Calfee was appointed Professor and Dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of California Riverside, serving as Dean for five years. Dr. Calfee has studied literacy assessment, effective instructional practices for helping all students become competent readers and writers, and methods for assisting schools to become learning communities. His Project READ-Plus and The Inquiring School programs have been implemented in hundreds of schools across the country. Dr. Calfee has conducted workshops and seminars for teachers and administrators from elementary, middle, and high schools, and works directly with teachers and schools to demonstrate innovative techniques. He is a frequent invited speaker at conferences across the country, author of over 200 published research articles and numerous books in the fields of education and psychology.

Ellen Condliffe Lagemann began her tenure as dean on July 15, 2002. Prior to her appointment, Lagemann, a nationally known expert on the history of education and education research, had been the president of the Spencer Foundation. Previously, she taught at New York University where she served as chair of the Department of the Humanities and the Social Sciences and was director of the Center for the Study of American Culture and Education. She also taught at Teachers College, where she was also a member of the Department of History at Columbia.