Colby Meyers

Coby V. Meyers

  • Associate Professor
  • Chief of Research, Partnership for Leaders in Education

Office Location

Ridley Hall 160
PO Box 400265
405 Emmet Street S
Charlottesville, VA 22903

Biography

In addition to his role with the school, Coby Meyers the chief of research for the Partnership for Leaders in Education (UVA-PLE), a unique joint venture between the highly ranked University of Virginia's Darden School of Business and the School of Education and Human Development. UVA-PLE combines the most innovative leadership advancement, practical expertise, and proven methodologies from both business and education to demonstrably improve educational and life outcomes for our nation’s students.

Meyers' research focuses on understanding the role of school system leadership, especially in the context of improving low-performing schools. He studies how district and school leaders establish and advance conditions and policies in areas such as improvement planning and data use to initiate and sustain change in how districts and schools operate. Meyers has played integral roles in various school turnaround initiatives, an area in which he has presented and published frequently, and currently leads an edited book series on the topic. He also considers how lessons from research and theory on organizational reform can inform educational system change, as well as how external providers and vendors influence how districts and schools operate.

Prior to joining UVA, Meyers was a senior researcher at American Institutes for Research (AIR), where he managed AIR's work in the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northeast and Islands. He also led beating-the-odds work for REL Midwest and REL Northeast and Islands that focused on identifying schools achieving at higher levels than expected and analyzing organizational factors that might be related to those achievement levels. He was also co-PI of the $2.5 million randomized controlled trial evaluation of the i3 eMINTS Validation Study and is a certified What Works Clearinghouse reviewer. Meyers began his professional career as a middle and high school English language arts teacher.

Education

Ph.D., Vanderbilt University, 2009
M.A., University of Kentucky, 2001
B.A., University of Kentucky, 2000

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