Each year, the Secretary of the Faculty recognizes four professors from across campus for these major awards, which have been given annually since the 1986-87 academic year. One faculty member each from the arts and humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, and biological sciences is selected from nominations by department chairs. The winners are awarded $7,500.
David Kaplan is the Patricia Busk Professor of Quantitative Methods in the Department of Educational Psychology and Laurie Beth Clark is a professor of non-static forms with the Art Department. Joining Kaplan and Clark from the UW Madison School of Education are Richard Lindroth, a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Entomology; and Thomas Jahns, a Grainger Professor of Power Electronics and Electrical Machines.
Kaplan is an international expert in applying Bayesian statistics to educational research. This branch of statistics provides realistic and evolving understandings of probabilities, and Kaplan has applied his work to educational assessments. His research has improved the design and analysis of influential educational assessments both in the U.S. and across the globe.
Throughout his career, Kaplan has authored dozens of research articles, written two books, and given scores of keynote addresses around the world. He was elected to the National Academy of Education in 2015. That same year, he received the Alexander von Humboldt Research Award, which led to a year at the Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education in Frankfurt, Germany, and subsequent work on international educational assessments.
Kaplan served as chair of the Department of Educational Psychology from 2012 to 2015 and is currently chair of the Research Advisory Committee of the National Academy of Education. He has taught 14 graduate statistics courses to students from all over campus and consistently receives high marks for distilling complex statistical methods into understandable content.
“Professor Kaplan is one of the most accomplished and recognized figures within the educational statistics community,” says James Wollack, professor and chair of the Department of Educational Psychology. “All the more wonderful is that Professor Kaplan is an extraordinary colleague; he is generous with his time and expertise and is passionate about helping to create an hospitable and enriching environment for our faculty, staff, and students.”