Bickel, William E.

(b. 1946). Ph.D. Foundations of Education, M.A.T. Elementary Education, University of Pittsburgh; B.A. U.S. History, Oberlin College.

Bickel is Professor of Administrative Policy Studies in the School of Education and a Senior Scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh. His research interests include evaluation methodology and research on evaluation utilization in various organizational and policy contexts and educational reform policy studies. Bickel's evaluation work is focused on investigating how evaluation processes in educational systems and related [Page 34]organizational and policy settings can contribute to improved practice. He addresses this question in part by conducting evaluation studies for policy and decision makers in a variety of reform and community settings. His recent work has emphasized investigations of the role evaluation plays in private foundations in the United States. He currently directs an evaluation partnership with the Heinz Endowments for its regional educational initiatives focused on comprehensive, school-based reform; preservice education policy and practice; and technology dissemination in urban school systems.

He was the Director of an institutional evaluation partnership between the University of Pittsburgh and the Lilly Endowment (1990–1997). The 7-year partnership assisted program officers in the Lilly Endowment's Education Division with the design and implementation of evaluation activities related to a wide range of policy and educational reform initiatives in both basic and higher education settings. In the past several years, Bickel has been a consultant to a number of foundations (e.g., the California Endowment, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, Packard Foundation, DeWitt-Wallace Funds) on matters concerning the effective use of evaluation-related processes to support organizational learning. He has coauthored a book on research methodology, Decision-Oriented Educational Research (with W. W. Cooley), and is the author of numerous book chapters, monographs, journal articles, and technical reports.