Northwestern University Scholar to Lead a Key Directorate at the National Science Foundation

Fay Lomax Cook, professor of human development and social policy in the School of Education and Social Policy and long-time director of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University, has been named to lead the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences at the National Science Foundation. She will begin her new duties in September.

Cora B. Marrett, acting director of the National Science Foundation, stated, “Dr. Cook will lead a directorate that enriches all parts of our society, including government, academia, education, and business and industry. Her deep experience and expertise in these areas will be of great value to NSF and to the research community.”

Dr. Cook is the former president of he Gerontological Society of America. She is the author or co-author of five books, including Talking Together: Public Deliberation and Political Participation in America (University of Chicago Press, 2009).

Professor Cook is a graduate of Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. She holds a master’s degree in English literature from the University of North Carolina, and a second master’s degree and a Ph.D. in social welfare policy from the University of Chicago.