Rice University gets $1M gift to expand educational research, public outreach at Kinder Institute

A new, $1 million gift from Houston Endowment to the Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research’s Houston Education Research Consortium will allow for expanded research capacity and more outreach to better educate practitioners and the public about pressing educational issues in the area.

“We are deeply grateful for the continued support from Houston Endowment,” said Erin Baumgartner, director of HERC. “This funding will help us continue our work to build close relationships with decision-makers and will support deeper, more responsive and district-specific research projects with our school district partners.”

The increase in HERC’s research production and public-facing presence will be supported with additional staff and an expanded communication infrastructure to support more local and regional talks, webinars and other outreach. Baumgartner said she and her team may also evaluate additional districts as potential partners.

The ultimate goal of this expansion, Baumgartner said, is to continue to increase HERC’s reach in helping partners address educational challenges within their own specific school districts.

“The regional expansion in 2017-18 magnified the reach of HERC’s work across Greater Houston,” Baumgartner said. “Further district-focused growth will enable researchers and decision-makers to pinpoint issues at the local level and help inform practice and policy in a way that is mindful of specific district needs.”