Christopher Morphew facts for kids

Christopher Clark Morphew (/ˈmɔːrfjuː/; born 1967) is an American academic. He is currently the leader, or dean, of the Johns Hopkins School of Education. He started this important job on August 1, 2017.

Before becoming a dean, he held leadership roles in big education groups. These include the Association for the Study of Higher Education and the American Educational Research Association. His writings have appeared in many academic journals. He has also shared his research in over two dozen different countries. His work has received funding from well-known organizations. These include the National Science Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

Early Life and Education

Christopher Morphew was born in 1967 in Des Moines, Iowa. A few months later, he was adopted by Susan and Larry Morphew. Both of his parents were public school teachers. He is biracial and African-American.

He spent his early years in Nemaha, Iowa, then moved to Estherville, Iowa. He finished high school at Estherville High School in 1986. After high school, he went to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Government and Philosophy in 1990. The next year, in 1991, he received a Master of Education (MEd) degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Education. He continued his studies at Stanford University. There, he earned a Master of Arts (MA) degree in sociology in 1994. In 1996, he completed his PhD in social sciences and educational practices from Stanford. His PhD research looked at how different state education boards work.

Career in Education

From 1996 to 1997, Dr. Morphew worked as a visiting professor at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. In 1997, he moved to Lawrence, Kansas. He became an assistant professor at the University of Kansas. He was promoted to associate professor in 2002.

From 2004 to 2007, he taught in a special program at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2005, he moved to Athens, Georgia. He became an associate professor at the University of Georgia. He also helped lead graduate programs there until 2009.

In 2009, he moved to Iowa City, Iowa. For eight years, he was a professor at the University of Iowa College of Education. He also chaired a department there from 2009 to 2014. During this time, he took a break to be a visiting professor in Oslo, Norway. This was part of a special scholarship called the Leif Erickson Scholar program. From 2014 to 2017, he was a leader for research and new ideas at the University of Iowa.

On August 1, 2017, he started his current role. He became the dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Education in Baltimore, Maryland.

Personal Life and Family

Christopher Morphew married his wife, Tanya, on May 28, 1994. They have three children. Their first son, Anthony, was born in 2000. Their second son, Samuel, was born in 2002. Their youngest child, Clara, was born in 2007 in Athens, Georgia, United States.

His son, Anthony, went to Iowa City High School and Towson High School. He now studies linguistics at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York.

Christopher Morphew is the youngest of three children. His sister, Melinda Johnson, teaches at the University of Colorado in Boulder. She lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband, Jeffery. His brother, Alan Morphew, is a musician in Northwest Iowa.

Publications

Dr. Morphew has written and edited many books and articles. These works often focus on topics in higher education. He has explored how universities are funded and how they change over time. He also writes about how colleges present themselves to students.

Some of his books include:

• The Challenges of Independent Colleges: Moving Research to Practice (2017)
• Privatizing the Public University: Perspectives from Across the Academy (2009)
• Routledge International Handbook of Higher Education (2009)

He has also written many articles for academic journals. These include The Review of Higher Education and Journal of Higher Education. His work helps people understand how colleges and universities work.