UCR education professors Eddie Comeaux and Rita Kohli have been named among the nation’s top 200 education scholars in a ranking by the American Enterprise Institute, or AEI.

The rankings are compiled by Frederick Hess, AEI’s director of education policy studies, who also writes a blog for Education Week. They are based on eight metrics that calculate scholars’ contributions to public discussions of education. The measures include points for the quality and reach of their books and papers, as well as their presence on websites and in news reports.

Comeaux, a professor and associate dean in the School of Education, is a founding executive director of the Center for Athletes’ Rights and Equity (CARE), where racial equity and policy issues in higher education are central to his work. He has authored over 75 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and other academic publications and reports. He has also published five books, including College Athletes’ Rights and Well-Being: Critical Perspectives on Policy and Practice.

“I’m incredibly grateful to be included among such accomplished scholars, whose work continues to shape and transform educational policy and practice,” Comeaux said.

Kohli, who started her career as a middle school teacher, is a professor in the School of Education and co-director of the Institute for Teachers of Color Committed to Racial Justice. She is the author of Teachers of Color Resisting Racism and Reclaiming Education, which documents racism and its impacts on the personal and professional lives of Black, Latina/o/e, Asian American, Indigenous, and multiracial teachers in public schools. The book was published in 2021 by Harvard Education Press. 

“It is an honor to be recognized alongside some of the most distinguished and influential scholars of the field,” she said.

The American Enterprise Institute is a public policy think tank based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to defending human dignity, expanding human potential, and building a freer and safer world through the principles of democracy and free enterprise.