Christina Christie

Christina A. Christie is the Wasserman Dean of the School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a professor of education in the Department of Education's Division of Social Research Methodology. An internationally recognized scholar in program evaluation, her work centers on understanding evaluation as a method for facilitating social betterment, developing theories and methods to measure educational, social, and behavioral changes resulting from program innovation and reform efforts. She earned her Ph.D. from UCLA, M.Ed. and M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University, and B.A. from the State University of New York. Christie joined UCLA in 2010 as associate professor, advancing to full professor in 2013. She served as Division Head of Social Research Methodology from 2011 to 2016, Chair of the Department of Education from 2016 to 2020, interim dean from 2020, and Wasserman Dean since 2021. Prior to UCLA, she was assistant and associate professor at Claremont Graduate University from 2002 to 2009.

Christie has led more than 30 grants and contracts totaling approximately $33 million to study education, child maltreatment, and health behavior programs. She directed the University of California Educational Evaluation Center and serves as co-investigator on the National Institutes of Health Diversity Program Consortium’s Coordination and Evaluation Center. Her service includes board membership with the American Evaluation Association (2011-2013) and advisory roles for the Latina Researchers Network, Annie E. Casey Foundation Leaders in Equitable Evaluation and Diversity Program, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Connections Program. Awards include the 2019 American Evaluation Association Research on Evaluation Distinguished Scholar Award, 2018 American Educational Research Association Research on Evaluation Special Interest Group Distinguished Scholar Award, 2018 UCLA Staff Assembly Faculty/Staff Partnership Award, 2004 American Evaluation Association Marcia Guttentag Early Career Achievement Award, and 1997-2000 Spencer Foundation Research and Training Doctoral Fellowship. Key publications encompass edited volumes such as Evaluation Roots (3rd edition, forthcoming, with M.C. Alkin), Credible and Actionable Evidence in Evaluation (2014, with S.I. Donaldson and M. Mark), and highly cited articles including “An evaluation theory tree” (2004, with M.C. Alkin) and “The chi-square test: Often used and more often misinterpreted” (2012, with T.M. Franke and T. Ho).

Professional Email: tina.christie@ucla.edu