Nathaniel J. Bray

Nathaniel J. Bray is a Professor and Program Coordinator 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. His undergraduate degree was in Biology at Harvard University, where he graduated cum laude in General Studies.

He teaches courses in higher education administration as well as in research design, focusing on quantitative methods. He has worked widely in mentoring students, receiving the W. Ross Palmer Service to Students Award at the College of Education in 2020, and has chaired over 60 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 examining return on educational investment for the Higher Education Partnership of Alabama (2015), and evaluation of the AGSC/STARS transfer system, and a three-year NSF Broadening grant partnering with with Shelton State Community College. 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.

​His efforts have been acknowledged with the 2017 Dr. Charles Eberly Oracle Award for outstanding research and the Nellie Rose McCrory Faculty Excellence Award for Research in 2023. 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.

His latest work includes co-editing special editions of the Journal of Education Finance (on higher education Pell grant funding) and Innovative Higher Education (on publishing in higher education).

​When not teaching or conducting research, he enjoys reading and writing, hiking, sailing and canoeing, photography, and travel.