About Henry M. Brickell (1926–2019), Founder
Henry M. (Mitch) Brickell was the founding president of Policy Studies in Education (PSE) in 1973 and directed the work of more than 500 projects since that time. The projects covered the education of kindergarteners through adults on a wide range of topics, including curriculum and assessment, school board policy making, desegregation, special education, teacher education, school finance, long-range planning, adult and higher education, and career and technical education.
Dr. Brickell addressed local, state, and national audiences of teachers, administrators, school board members, legislators, and citizens in most states over the past 50 years. He was named one of the first Distinguished Professors of the National Academy for School Executives, operated by the American Association of School Administrators for the professional development of administrators. He was a sought-after speaker and workshop leader by the National School Boards Association and by many state associations of school boards, including Texas, California, Pennsylvania, and New York.
Early in his career, Dr. Brickell created the Davies–Brickell System of School Board Policy Making and Administration, which is currently used by most school districts nationwide to create and record their school board policies. This system changed the course of school board policy making in the U.S. While on special assignment to Commissioner James E. Allen, Jr., at the New York State Education Department, Dr. Brickell wrote a landmark book on educational innovation, Organizing New York State for Educational Change.
Over his long career, he authored numerous books, book chapters, and articles for professional educational journals (including Phi Delta Kappan, Educational Leadership, and The College Board Review). He co-authored two books published by the National School Boards Association for school board members about their role in curriculum and evaluation and Americans in Transition—Life Changes as Reasons for Adult Learning, a national survey and analysis of why adults come to college. He served as the American Educational Research Association’s representative to the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation, which published benchmarks for the sound evaluation of educational programs.
In addition to directing projects at PSE, Dr. Brickell served as a mentor to more than 50 professional staff members and associates at PSE. He also served as an independent consultant to many organizations and produced studies such as these:
Planning for Public and Nonpublic Education in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Working for legislative commissions, Dr. Brickell directed statewide studies in which citizens were surveyed and statistical data were analyzed. Final reports to the legislative commissions recommended how public and nonpublic education should be structured and financed in each state.
Planning Future Directions for the Council on Educational Research and Development (CEDaR). Dr. Brickell helped plan the future initiatives and lobbying strategies of CEDaR, the national association of federally funded educational research and development laboratories and centers. After extensive interviews with national educational and legislative leaders, Dr. Brickell advised CEDaR both on how to position itself and its members for new roles and on how to judge their effectiveness.
Analyzing Exemplary Youth Employment Programs. Dr. Brickell chaired the National Institute of Education’s conference on exemplary youth employment programs and subsequently prepared the report for the Vice President’s Task Force on Youth Employment. As a result, he was one of 15 scholars invited by the federal government to lead a national symposium on youth transition from school to work.
Advising Federally Funded Regional Educational Laboratories. For 20 years, Dr. Brickell served as chair of the outside review panels that monitored the work of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory and Research for Better Schools. Part of Dr. Brickell’s role was to set benchmarks against which the labs’ work could be judged for its effectiveness, particularly as the labs improved their services to their state education departments and local school district clients.
Evaluating Initiatives of the National Center for Research in Vocational Education (NCRVE). Dr. Brickell served as the independent evaluator of projects conducted by NCRVE, including its technical assistance in statewide vocational education planning and career education counseling programs.
Prior to his founding of PSE, Dr. Brickell taught high school English in Illinois, served as an assistant superintendent in the Manhasset (New York) Public Schools, taught at New York University and Stanford University, served as an Associate Dean for Research and Development at Indiana University, and worked at the Educational Testing Service.
Dr. Brickell earned a B.S. from The Ohio State University, an M.A. from the University of Chicago, and an M.A. and Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University.