Christopher Loss

Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Higher Education

Ph.D., University of Virginia, 2007

Joined faculty in 2007

Short Biography

Christopher Loss holds doctorates in higher education and in history from the University of Virginia. Prior to joining the faculty at Vanderbilt University, Loss was a research fellow in the Governance Studies Program at The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

Professor Loss specializes in twentieth-century American history with an emphasis on the social, political, and policy history of American higher education. His research has been supported by the Franklin Roosevelt Library Institute, the Harry S. Truman Library Institute, the Lyndon B. Johnson Library Institute, and the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, where he was a fellow in contemporary history and public policy in 2004-05. His publications include peer-reviewed articles in the Journal of American History, the Journal of Policy History, and the History of Education Quarterly, among others. In 2006, he won the James Madison Prize, awarded annually to an outstanding article on the history of the federal government by the Society for History in the Federal Government. Most recently, in 2007, he was a recipient of the Award for Excellence in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Virginia.

Currently, Professor Loss is revising his dissertation for publication. “From Democracy to Diversity: The Politics of American Higher Education in the Twentieth Century” (University of Virginia, 2007) examines the role of higher education in state building and in redefining conceptions of democratic citizenship in the twentieth century.

Learn More about Christopher Loss:

Selected Publications | Awards
CV | Media Mentions

Media Mentions

Chris Loss a fellow for the National Forum on the Future of the Liberal Arts
Teagle Foundation to sponsor forum.

Faculty Honors and Appointments
Chris Loss receives appointment to a new national education forum.

Presidential hopefuls agree on need to simplify tuition aid - Christopher Loss interviewed
Americans are angry about the cost of universities and the complicated process required of them to get government financial aid. And both candidates have scrambled to give the appearance, at least, of addressing the problem.

National Center on School Choice researcher wins top dissertation award
Marisa Cannata, a Peabody post-doctoral fellow, to receive award March 25, 2008.

Peabody researcher Loss wins top national dissertation award
Vanderbilt education researcher Christopher Loss to receive the American Education Research Association, Division J (Post-Secondary Education) Dissertation of the Year Award

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