Brief History of the NGSRSEA

The David L. Clark National Graduate Student Research Seminar emerged from the two- to three-day regional series of graduate student seminars held by UCEA since 1966. At first held at member institutions, UCEA announced it would support two graduate student seminars beginning in 1979. UCEA demonstrated its support by providing a grant to the host institution to cover some of the expenses of the students attending the seminar by publicizing the seminar in news releases and newsletter, The UCEA Review, and by providing a forum of the proceedings in The Review. By 1984, the seminar had adopted a new title: The National Graduate Students Research Seminar in Educational Administration (NGSRSEA) and had begun to hold the seminar prior to the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). At this time, the event was co-sponsored by AERA and the National Institute of Education (NIE). The seminar changed again as the NIE folded, so UCEA stepped in and provided financial support beginning in 1986. By 1987, the U.S. Department of Education Office of Research joined UCEA and AERA to sponsor the seminar. Another change occurred in 1998 when UCEA, AERA Divisions A and L, and Corwin Press joined together to sponsor the seminar. In 1999, the seminar adopted its current title, The David L. Clark National Graduate Student Research Seminar in Educational Administration & Policy, in honor of David L. Clark who passed away in 1998.