Dr. Ron Zimmer is a Professor at the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Kentucky. Previously, Dr. Zimmer served as the Director of the Martin School from 2016 through 2025.
Prior to the University of Kentucky, Dr. Zimmer was a faculty member at Vanderbilt University and spent a number of years at the RAND Corporation.
Dr. Zimmer has been a coeditor or associate editor of Journal of Policy Analysis & Management, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, and Economics of Education Review. He is currently a board member of all three journals.
What public problem(s) does your research address?
My primarily focused on school choice policies (e.g., school vouchers, charter schools), school finance, and school reforms.
What public impact research are you most proud of?
In Tennessee, we conducted research on a state initiative to “turnaround” low performing schools. We evaluated the policy by examining the student achievement performance of the schools affected by the policy. Our findings led to direct policy changes, including a moratorium on the expansion of the policy.
This study, funded by IES, Walton Foundation, and Arnold Ventures, led to a variety of articles, reports and coverage by over 100 media outlets, pointing to the relevance and importance of this work. Read more about School Turnaround in Tennesee: Insights After Six Years of Reform.
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