McClure Receives Distinguished Research and Practice Fellow Award

University of Pittsburgh School of Education professor Maureen W. McClure has devoted her career to insuring educational access in the U.S. and abroad. Her more than 30 years of dedication will be recognized with the National Education Finance Conference Distinguished Research and Practice Fellow Award. 

The Distinguished Fellow Award is given annually to 10 higher education-affiliated professionals who have displayed exemplary research and practice in the field of public education finance. The award—regarded as one of the highest in that field—is to be presented on Feb. 12 during the sixth annual National Education Finance Conference in Jacksonville, Fla. 

A faculty member within Pitt’s School of Education since 1983, McClure is an associate professor of administrative and policy studies and a senior research associate in the Institute for International Studies in Education. She served as the chair of the Department of Administrative and Policy Studies from 2004-07. 

McClure’s research focuses on education for future generations. Her approaches to ensuring educational access range widely, from tracking new globally available distance education technologies, to monitoring state-level support for U.S. public schools, to assisting in the rebuilding of educational systems in nations that have recently experienced a national crisis. To this end, McClure has worked alongside colleagues in Bosnia, China, Indonesia, and Iraq, among other nations. 

“I feel that schools are each generation’s moral obligation to help the next. Future generations, both in the U.S. and around the world, need to safely and efficiently succeed past generations,” said McClure. “Across the globe, today’s young people are inheriting the most complicated civilizations, technologies, and environments we have ever known. It’s a tough job. Crises, like natural and man-made disasters, can seriously disrupt these generational transitions. I am proud that my students work tirelessly every day in the tough jobs of education, both in the U.S. and internationally.”

In addition to her work at Pitt, McClure has been a long-time collaborator with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). She is currently serving as a senior vice president on the board of directors of Americans for UNESCO. Domestically, McClure is an elected school board member for the Riverview School District, where she is currently serving as the school board’s president. 

McClure earned a PhD degree in education, a Master of Business Administration degree in applied economics for the nonprofit sector, and a Master of Science degree in educational administration from the University of Rochester. She also possesses a Master of Arts in secondary education and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Allegheny College.