Known as a collaborative and entrepreneurial leader, Christopher C. Morphew has served as dean of Johns Hopkins University's School of Education since 2017.
During his tenure, sponsored research funding at the School of Education has more than doubled, to over $50 million in FY22. During this time, the school has also hired more than 20 new faculty members; developed three innovative new master's degree programs; secured its first endowed professorship; created the Office of Diversity and Faculty Development; embarked on the university’s first equity audit; founded the Center for Safe and Healthy Schools; launched the White House-backed National Partnership for Student Success; undertaken a bold renovation of its historic Baltimore headquarters; and brought together its academic and research efforts under a unified strategic vision.
In his own research, Morphew concentrates on issues of institutional diversity in higher education, including those related to state higher education policy and how institutions communicate to constituents. His work has appeared in Research in Higher Education; The Journal of Higher Education; Educational Finance; Higher Education Policy, and other journals, and he has presented his research in more than two dozen countries. His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Lumina Foundation, and the Ford Foundation, among others. He has held leadership positions in the Association for the Study of Higher Education and the American Educational Research Association. His most recent book, The Challenges of Independent Colleges, was published by Johns Hopkins University Press in November 2017.
Prior to joining the School of Education, Morphew was professor and executive associate dean in the University of Iowa's College of Education. He also has held tenured positions at the University of Georgia and University of Kansas, and he served as Leiv Eiriksson Scholar at the University of Oslo. He holds a Ph.D. in social sciences and education from Stanford University, as well as degrees from Harvard University and the University of Notre Dame
