Benjamin Superfine, the assistant vice provost of faculty relations and a professor of educational policy studies at the University of Illinois Chicago, has been appointed senior director of the University of Illinois System’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs, system Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs Nicholas P. Jones announced today.
Superfine will assume his new role at the U of I System’s public policy research institute on Aug. 16, pending formal approval by the system’s board of trustees at its July 11 meeting.
He succeeds Interim Director David Merriman, who will return to his previous position as the James J. Stukel Presidential Professor of Public Policy, Management, and Analytics at UIC’s College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs.
“David’s leadership and experience served IGPA tremendously as a search for a permanent director was conducted,” Jones said. “I am deeply grateful to David for generously sharing his experience and wisdom this past year and wish him all the best in his next endeavors.”
Superfine has been with UIC since 2006, beginning as an assistant professor of educational policy studies. In 2017, he was a visiting scholar with IGPA for two years and also served as chair of the educational policy studies department for eight years before transitioning to his current position. He holds faculty affiliate positions within the UIC School of Law, Learning Sciences Research Institute and the Center for Urban Education Leadership. Superfine founded the Research on Urban Education Policy Initiative at the UIC College of Education, which fosters informed dialogue and decision-making about education policy in Chicago and other urban areas.
Superfine’s research is interdisciplinary and addresses educational policy issues through the lenses of law, history and social science. His research appears in educational and legal journals. He is currently a co-principal investigator on a National Science Foundation grant focused on developing research-practice partnerships with urban school districts.
Before joining UIC, Superfine practiced law at Dow Lohnes PLLC. Superfine earned his doctoral degree and juris doctor from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Created pursuant to a 1947 resolution of the Illinois General Assembly, IGPA is a public policy research organization based at all three U of I System universities.
