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David J. Armor

David J. Armor

Professor of Public Policy

Main: 703-993-2260
Fax: 703-993-2284

4400 University Drive – MS 3C6
Fairfax, Virginia 22030


David J. Armor is a Professor of Public Policy in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University, where he teaches graduate courses in multivariate statistics, culture and policy, social theory and policy, and program evaluation.  From 2002 to 2005 Professor Armor served as Director of the PhD Program in Public Policy. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University, where he also served on the faculty as Assistant and Associate Professor from 1965 to 1972.

Following a Visiting Professorship at UCLA from 1972 to 1973, Professor Armor joined the Rand Corporation as a Senior Social Scientist, where he conducted research on substance abuse, education, health, and military manpower policy from 1973 to 1982.  He was a candidate for Congress in 1982, and in 1985 he was elected to the Los Angeles Board of Education. From 1986 to 1989 Professor Armor was Principal Deputy and Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Management and Personnel.  He has conducted research and written widely in the general area of social policy, with special emphasis on education, civil rights and military manpower issues.  Between 1999 and 2005 he served on several National Academy of Science committees studying various issues in military recruiting.

He has consulted on and testified as an expert witness in more than 40 school desegregation and educational adequacy cases.



Areas of Research
  • Affirmative Action and Desegregation
  • Education Policy
  • Family Policy
  • Methodology (Statistical Analysis, Survey Design)
  • Military Manpower
  • Welfare Policy

Education
Ph.D., Sociology, Harvard University

B.A., Mathematics and Sociology, University of California, Berkeley

Professional Experience
1992 - Joined the Institute of Public Policy, GMU

1986-89 Principle Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense, Force Management and Personnel

1985-86 Elected member, Los Angeles Board of Education

1982-85 President, National Policy Analysts

1973-82 Senior Social Scientist, The Rand Corporation, Santa Monica

1972-73 Visiting Professor, Department of Sociology, UCLA

1966-72 Asst/Assoc Professor of Sociology, Department of Social Relations, Harvard

Books
Armor, D. J. Assessing Fitness for Military Enlistment. National Academies Press, 2005.

Book Sections
Armor, D. J. "Can N.C.L.B. Close Achievement Gaps." In No Child Left Behind and the Reduction of the Achievement Gap, edited by A. Sadovnik, et al: Routledge, 2008.

Armor, D. J. "The Outcomes of School Desegration in Public Schools." In The Benefits of Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Elementary and Secondary Education. Washington, DC, United States Commission of Civil Rights, 2006.

Armor, D. J. "Lessons Learned from School Desegregation." In Generational Change, edited by Paul E. Peterson: Rowman and Littlefield, 2006.

Journal Articles and Reviews
Armor, D. J. and Gilroy, C.L. "Changes in Minority Representation in the U.S. Military." Armed Forces & Society (forthcoming)

Armor, D. J. and O'Neill, S.D. "After Seattle: Social Science Research and Narrowly Tailored Desegregation Plans." Teachers College Record Volume 112 Number 6, 2010.

Armor, D. J. "Race, the Supreme Court, and Social Science Evidence." Teachers College Record, June 15, 2009.

Reports
Armor, D. J., A. Thernstrom, and S. Thernstrom . The Educational and Social Benefits of Racial Diversity, Amicus Curia Brief to the Superme Court, August 21, 2006.

Books
Armor, D. J. Assessing Fitness for Military Enlistment. National Academies Press, 2005.

Book Sections
Armor, D. J. "Can N.C.L.B. Close Achievement Gaps." In No Child Left Behind and the Reduction of the Achievement Gap, edited by A. Sadovnik, et al: Routledge, 2008.

Armor, D. J. "The Outcomes of School Desegration in Public Schools." In The Benefits of Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Elementary and Secondary Education. Washington, DC, United States Commission of Civil Rights, 2006.

Armor, D. J. "Lessons Learned from School Desegregation." In Generational Change, edited by Paul E. Peterson: Rowman and Littlefield, 2006.

Journal Articles and Reviews
Armor, D. J. and Gilroy, C.L. "Changes in Minority Representation in the U.S. Military." Armed Forces & Society (forthcoming)

Armor, D. J. and O'Neill, S.D. "After Seattle: Social Science Research and Narrowly Tailored Desegregation Plans." Teachers College Record Volume 112 Number 6, 2010.

Armor, D. J. "Race, the Supreme Court, and Social Science Evidence." Teachers College Record, June 15, 2009.

Reports
Armor, D. J., A. Thernstrom, and S. Thernstrom . The Educational and Social Benefits of Racial Diversity, Amicus Curia Brief to the Superme Court, August 21, 2006.

Honors
1989 Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal

1976 Article of the Year, Journal of Studies on Alcoholism

1963 Russell Sage Foundation Fellowship, Harvard University

1961-62 Woodrow Wilson Fellow, Harvard University

1961 Highest Honors in Sociology, UC Berkeley


Quick Facts

Ranked, by the National Science Foundation, as the number one program in its field for federal and total research expenditures.

Faculty have received grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and are Fulbright Scholars and Mellon Fellowship recipients.

In 2007 and 2008, The School’s 45 faculty produced 21 books, 61 book chapters, 14 edited volumes, and 75 refereed journal articles.

For 2007 and 2008 The School’s sponsored research expenditures totaled $17 million, faculty submitted 179 proposals, and The School supported 43 doctoral students.

Research per full-time faculty member for FY 07-08 totaled $123,030, making SPP among the largest funded in the university.

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