Degrees

Ph.D., M.A., Harvard University
B.A., Columbia University

Research Interests

Scott Gelber is a historian of American higher education. His book, The University and the People: Envisioning American Higher Education in an Era of Populist Revolt, has been published by the University of Wisconsin Press. The dissertation upon which this work was based won the History of Education Society's Claude Eggertsen Dissertation Prize.  His current research project examines the legal history of American higher education from 1860 to 1960.  He is a former New York City public school teacher.

Teaching Interests

Secondary school instructional methods
History, politics, and philosophy of education

• Schooling in America (ED 250)
• Secondary School Curriculum (ED 391)
• Seminar in Teaching Methods (ED 495)
• Student Teaching Practicum (ED 496)
• First Year Seminar: American Cities/American Suburbs

Publications

"Child Support Litigation and the 'Necessity' of American Higher Education, 1926-71,” American Journal of Legal History 52(4) (Forthcoming 2012).

The University and the People: Envisioning American Higher Education in an Era of Populist Protest (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2011).

"'City Blood is No Better Than Country Blood': The Populist Movement and Admissions Policies at Public Colleges and Universities," History of Education Quarterly 51(3) (August 2011).

"The Crux and the Magic: The Political History of Boston Magnet Schools, 1968-1989," Equity and Excellence in Education 41(4) (November 2008), 453-66.

"Pathways in the Past: Historical Perspectives on Access to Higher Education," Teachers College Record 109(10) (October 2007), 2252-2286.

"The Social Contract of the Public University," Essay Review, History of Education Quarterly 47(3) (August 2007), 368-376.

"A Hard-Boiled Order: The Reeducation of Disabled World War I Veterans in New York City," Journal of Social History 39(1) (Fall 2005), 161-180.