Kevin Bastian holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy from UNC Chapel Hill, and serves as the Director of Research for EPIC. He is the Principal Investigator for the Educator Quality Research Initiative, a partnership between EPIC and the UNC System Office focused on improving educator preparation, and the evaluation of the UNC System laboratory schools.

In addition to these projects, Dr. Bastian leads a research partnership with US PREP, a technical assistance center supporting improvement in university-based educator preparation programs.

Dr. Bastian’s research interests include educator preparation, labor markets, and on-the-job learning, estimating teacher and principal effectiveness, the distribution of educational resources, and using data to inform the improvement of educator preparation programs.

Dr. Bastian has received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Belk Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the UNC System. He has recent publications in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Education Finance and Policy, the Journal of Teacher Education, AERA Open, and Teaching and Teacher Education and has authored many reports and research briefs for education policymakers and practitioners.