Ben Bowman Joins L&C as Senior Fellow

The Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling is excited to announce that Ben Bowman has joined the institution as a Senior Fellow. Bowman will work closely with Graduate School leadership and faculty and with partners across the state to scale the school’s impact and expand the use of data and research to improve outcomes in Oregon K-12 schools.

Ben BowmanHaving a long-established reputation for its mission-driven focus on equity, along with faculty who are dedicated research-practitioners, the school is ideally positioned to provide Oregon with an independent hub for conducting and applying research to improve K-12 education across the state. This effort will address persistent challenges for Oregon schools and help the state better understand how to support its most marginalized student populations.

“We are all too familiar with statistics about how Oregon students and schools lag behind students and schools in other states. But many Oregonians don’t realize we also lack the kind of independent research centers other states have, which allow them to use data and research about effective instruction, school- and community-based supports, and school structure to improve student outcomes,” notes Andy Saultz, Dean of Lewis & Clark’s Graduate School of Education and Counseling. “Lewis & Clark is committed to filling that gap. Ben brings an exceptional combination of policy expertise, practical experience, and deep commitment to the success of Oregon’s preK-12 students and schools, all of which will be used to spearhead this effort.”

Bowman arrives at Lewis & Clark with deep education policy experience at the state and local level. In his current role as Director of Community Relations and Partnerships in the Gladstone School District, he has helped expand access to school-based behavioral health services and worked on Gladstone’s innovative school attendance work to combat chronic absenteeism.

Bowman’s previous professional roles include Innovation and Partnership Strategist for the Oregon Department of Education, and Legislative Affairs Coordinator for the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators. Bowman also served as chair of the Tigard-Tualatin School District Board of Directors, where he helped lead the district to its highest graduation rates. Bowman holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon and a master’s degree in education policy from Stanford University. He is also a State Representative and House Majority Leader in the state legislature.