Nathaniel J. Bray is a Professor of Higher Education Administration and Associate Director of the Education Policy Center at The University of Alabama. He joined UA as an Assistant Professor in 2004, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2010, and to Professor in 2018. Prior to joining the faculty at UA, he was a Research Analyst conducting Institutional Research at Virginia Tech. Dr. Bray earned his Masters (MEd) and doctorate (PhD) at Vanderbilt University at the Peabody College of Education, working with such mentors as John Braxton, Terry Deal, Jeff Milem, Kassie Freeman, Berta Vigil Laden, and Alma Clayton Pedersen. His undergraduate degree was in Biology at Harvard University, where he graduated cum laude in General Studies.

He has taught multiple courses in the Higher Education Administration program as well as in Educational Research, focusing on quantitative methods and research design. Dr. Bray has worked widely in mentoring students and has chaired over 50 dissertations through completion. He has published two books and edited two special edition journals, and has authored or co-authored over 60 different publications. His work at the Education Policy Center has involved work as co-PI on numerous grants, including a return on investment study for the Higher Education Partnership of Alabama (2015), and evaluation of the AGSC STARS transfer system, and a three-year NSF Broadening grant with Shelton State. The Education Policy Center received the ASHE 2016 Excellence in Public Policy in Higher Education Award for its efforts related to Pell grants and improving financial access to higher education for students.

​Dr. Bray’s efforts have been acknowledged with the 2017 Dr. Charles Eberly Oracle Award for outstanding research, the 2020 Ross Palmer Service to Students Award, and the Nellie Rose McCrory Faculty Excellence Award for Research in 2023 for the College of Education. He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of College Student Development, Innovative Higher Education, Journal of General Education, Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy, Journal of Higher Education Athletics & Innovation, and on the advisory board for the ASHE Higher Education Report Monograph Series

Beth K. Thomas is the Program Assistant for the Education Policy Center. She joins the team at the University of Alabama with over 40 years of experience in the clinical laboratory field ranging from Medical Technology bench tech, director of a small clinical hospital, to management at the Children’s of Alabama Main Laboratory.

Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio and attending the University of Alabama since August of 2016 and a Graduate Research Associate with the Education Policy Center since August of 2019, Noel has had a major role in the analysis and visualization of higher education data. With a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Economics, a Master of Arts in Applied Economics, and currently studying Political Science for his PhD, much of his studies have revolved around data analytics and policy and has applied this to his work at the EPC.

From Greenville, AL, Garrett has been at UA since 2017 and has since acquired his bachelor’s in political science, and Master of Public Administration, and is beginning his time in the Political Science doctoral program. The Butler County native was drawn to the Education Policy Center with its Black Belt 2020 issue brief series and joined the team. He has co-authored 7 of the Black Belt reports, as well as 2 articles featured in the Winter 2023 special edition of the Journal of Education Finance. His roles at the EPC and its research include editing, data visualization, and technical and donor liaison.

Moses has been awarded the prestigious University of Alabama Graduate Council Fellowship for 2023-2024 to work with the Education Policy Center. He is working on a second doctorate here in Alabama. He has experience working as a School Facilitator for Universal Basic Education at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, a Teaching and Research Fellow at the Beijing Normal University, China, a Research Fellow with MGIEP UNESCO, etc. Moses has also published over thirty research articles in related areas.

​His latest research is centered on the intersection between jobs needed in business and industry and higher education, specifically reducing the mismatch, especially at the sub-baccalaureate levels. His passion for youth empowerment and flourishing makes him interested in researching more in higher education, education evaluation, education finance, budgeting, retention, youth employability, human capital, curriculum, international education, mobility, etc.