Martin R. West is academic dean and Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and deputy director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard Kennedy School. He is also a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, editor-in-chief of Education Next, and a member of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the National Assessment Governing Board. He studies the politics of K-12 education in the United States and how education policy choices affect student learning and social-emotional development. In 2013-14, he served as senior education policy advisor to the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. He previously taught at Brown University and was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Apply now 

Applications for this event are open until 11:59 PM on Tuesday, February 21, and are limited to students in the Class of 2026. Ten Harvard College first-year students will be selected to attend each dinner, and students must submit an application to be considered.

If you have questions about this event or the Uncommon Fare Program, please contact Garry Mitchell at firstyearfacstu@fas.harvard.edu.