Social Science Research Council

Program Director

rhoten@ssrc.org
Office Phone: Ext. 605
Knowledge Institutions
Formation of Interdisciplinary Scientists: New Concepts in Graduate Training and Assessment

Diana Rhoten joined the Social Science Research Council as director of the Knowledge Institutions program area in January of 2004. In addition to her role at SSRC, Rhoten is currently on loan to the National Science Foundation as a program director in the areas of Virtual Organizations and Learning & Workforce Development for the Office of Cyberinfrastructure.

Rhoten's research focuses on the social and technical conditions as well as the individual and organizational implications of different approaches to knowledge production and dissemination. Much of her recent work in this area concerns the study of interdisciplinary and collaborative practices in science. She is particularly interested in the implications that geographically distributed and scientifically diverse networks pose for traditional research questions and institutions—particularly in light of the many emerging technological capacities before us.

Recent examples of her current work can be found in Science, Nature, and Research Policy. She is also currently co-editing a book tentatively titled The Transformation of Public Research Universities with Craig Calhoun. In addition to publishing scholarly works on the topic, Rhoten works with various academic and non-academic organizations on the design, implementation, and assessment of new organizational forms of research and training. For her work in this area, Rhoten was selected as a Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer (July 2005-June 2007), an award that honors individuals at the leading edge of science.

Rhoten’s earlier research in the international arena takes up comparative analyses of local interpretations and implementations of global social and educational policies in North and South America. Publications related to this earlier work can be found in journals such as the Journal of Education Policy and Comparative Education Review as well as in The New Accountability: High Schools and High-Stakes Testing and Las Reformas Educativas en la Década de 1990: Un Estudio Comparado de Argentina, Chile y Uruguay.

Prior to coming to the Council, Rhoten was co-founder and research director of the Hybrid Vigor Institute, an assistant professor of international development and education policy at the Stanford University School of Education, and an education policy analyst for the Governor of Massachusetts. Rhoten has a Ph.D. in social sciences and educational policy and an M.A. in sociology from Stanford University, as well as an M.Ed. in international development education from Harvard University and an A.B. in international relations from Brown University.