KSU’s Education Economics Center recently received $2.81 million in grants to support the center’s education and research.
Tommy and Chantal Bagwell, longtime supporters of KSU, donated $2 million to the center, and the Charles Koch Foundation donated $810,000 — totaling $2.81 million.
“We appreciate the generosity of our donors who continue to demonstrate their enduring commitment to supporting worthwhile education and research at Kennesaw State University,” said Kathy Schwaig, dean of the Michael J. Coles College of Business. “Their contributions will help empower the Education Economics Center to continue exploring innovative, data-driven solutions to challenges faced by students and educators across the country.”
Housed by the Coles College of Business, the center works to “provide nonpartisan research and technical assistance in the evaluation and design of education policy, including both tax and expenditure issues,” according to the KSU website.
The center’s mission is to ensure that the best quality education is provided to students by bringing data evidence to policy decisions.
The center covers topics such as education taxes and expenditures and resulting outcomes while conducting research on teacher labor markets, public school staffing, school choice, charter schools, access to Advanced Placement courses and voter attitudes, according to the Marietta Daily Journal.
“The Education Economics Center’s purpose is to produce academic and policy research and to provide technical assistance in informing researchers, education policymakers, educators and the general public about the most effective ways to improve educational opportunities for students,” said Ben Scafidi, the director of the center and professor of economics.
Scafidi founded the center and has served as its director since he began working at KSU in 2014. His research on education policy has been cited more than 1,400 times, and he has presented his research at several national and international conferences, according to the Marietta Daily Journal.
“This very generous gift will allow the center to significantly expand our efforts to address real-world education challenges through the exchange of diverse ideas,” Scafidi said.
