Kenneth K. Wong is a nonresident senior fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution. He is the Kerry Group Professor in Public Policy at the University of Hong Kong. He also serves as the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Professor Emeritus of Education Policy and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Brown University.
Wong has conducted extensive research in local and state governance, intergovernmental relations, and education policy. He has authored or coauthored several books, including “Trump, the Administrative Presidency and Federalism,” “The Education Mayor: Improving America’s Schools,” “Successful School and Educational Accountability,” “Funding Public Schools: Policy and Politics,” “When Federalism Works,” and “City Choices: Education and Housing.” He was the lead researcher of a global education project at the Forum of Federations that led to the publication of an edited book, “Federalism and Education: Ongoing Challenges and Policy Strategies in Ten Countries.” His research has received support from the National Science Foundation, the Institute for Education Sciences, the U.S. Department of Education, and several foundations. He was the founding director of the National Center for the Study of School Choice and Student Achievement from 2004 to 2005. From 2013 to 2014, he served as an advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Education and the U.S. Secretary of Interior on issues pertaining to Native Indian education. He was a key architect of the State of Rhode Island’s 2010 school funding formula, the first major funding reform in 20 years. He also served as the advisor to the Rhode Island School Funding Working Group (2016 to 2017), appointed by the governor of Rhode Island. He was a member of the expert panel to the U.S. Department of Education on its study on federal Title I funding in 2016, as mandated by the U.S. Congress. He served as the lead evaluator of Providence Mayor’s “Providence Talks” program, an innovative initiative supported by the Bloomberg Philanthropies. He is a member of the Children’s Cabinet in the Office of the Mayor to foster cross sector collaboration to promote economic and schooling opportunity for all in Providence, Rhode Island.
Wong earned his Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. in political science at the University of Chicago and previously taught at Vanderbilt University and the University of Chicago.
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Current Positions
- Kerry Group Professor in Public Policy; University of Hong Kong
- Walter and Leonore Annenberg Professor Emeritus of Education Policy; Brown University
- Professor Emeritus of Political Science; Brown University
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Past Positions
- Walter and Leonore Annenberg Professor of Education Policy and Director of the Urban Education Policy Program; Brown University
- Professor of Political Science and Professor of International and Public Affairs; Brown University
- Professor, Vanderbilt University
- Associate Professor, University of Chicago
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Education
- Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Chicago
- M.A. in Political Science, University of Chicago
- B.A. (Hons.) in Political Science, University of Chicago