Michael Scriven

Academic Background Stuff. Three degrees from the University of Melbourne, Australia: BA in mathematics/mathematical physics from the Honours School of Mathematics; MA in the Combined Honours School of Mathematics and Philosophy; D.Ed. for lifetime work in educational research. D. Phil. in philosophy from Oxford University. Teaching and research positions in departments/centers of mathematics, philosophy, psychology, history & philosophy of science, law, education, technology, and evaluation, including 12 years at Berkeley, 7 at the University of Western Australia and at Claremont Graduate University, and 1-4 years at Swarthmore, Auckland, Minnesota, Indiana, Harvard, and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, etc. 450+ publications in those and other fields, especially critical thinking and evaluation. Ex-President of American Educational Research Association and American Evaluation Association.

Other Stuff. Main skills: critical thinking, problem solving in every field, house design. Main interests: Car buff, gadget freak, oarsman (once upon a time, like my work in parapsychology), travel, foodie (but zero drinkie), entrepreneur. Main contributions: making evaluation into a discipline; founding the Faster Forward Fund to support 'out of the box' research; providing a new foundation for humanitarian ethics. Main inspirations: Mary Anne Warren (my wife for 40+ years), Ludwig Wittgenstein, A. E. van Vogt.

Routine Stuff: Born in New Forest, UK, 3/28; grew up in Australia 1940 t0 1950; to Oxford 1950; to US from Oxford in 1952; to Western Australia early 80s; to New Zealand mid-80s; to Western Michigan University late 80s. 66 years of college teaching/research by now, 2015.