Marvin C. Alkin is a Professor Emeritus of Education at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He earned his Ed.D. from Stanford University in 1964, M.A. in Education from San Jose State College in 1959, and A.B. in Mathematics from San Jose State College in 1956. Joining the UCLA faculty in 1964, Alkin served as Chair of the Department of Education and Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. He founded and directed the UCLA Center for the Study of Evaluation for seven years. He has consulted for numerous national governments and directed program evaluations in 18 different countries. After retiring in 2004 following 40 years at UCLA, he continued teaching graduate courses in evaluation theory and procedures, a research apprenticeship course, and a new undergraduate course, while mentoring over 35 graduate students, chairing 11 dissertations.

Alkin's primary research interests lie in program evaluation, particularly evaluation utilization, comparative evaluation theory, and the development of Context Sensitive Evaluation. He has authored or edited more than 150 books, articles, chapters, monographs, and technical reports. Notable publications include Evaluation Roots: Tracing Theorists’ Views and Influences (editor, 2004, second edition 2013, third edition 2023 with Christina Christie), Evaluation Essentials: From A to Z (co-authored, first edition 2011 with Anne T. Vo, second edition 2017, third edition 2024 with Vo and Christie), and 'The Historical Development of Evaluation Use' (co-authored with James King, 2016). Alkin has received numerous honors, such as the 2024–2025 Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professorship Award from UCLA, the American Evaluation Association’s Research on Evaluation Award (2016) and Paul F. Lazarsfeld Award for Lifelong Contributions to Evaluation Theory (1996)—making him one of only four recipients of both major AEA scholarly awards—the UCLA Department of Education Distinguished Teaching Award (1998), and multiple awards from the American Educational Research Association for outstanding evaluation reports and policy studies (1982, 1987, 1989). He has served as editor or associate editor of eight academic journals, including Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Evaluation Review, and Studies in Educational Evaluation (1975–2010), executive editor of the Encyclopedia of Educational Research (sixth edition, 1992), and is currently co-editor of SAGE Publications’ Evaluation in Practice Series.

Professional Email: alkin@seis.ucla.edu