Joel Westheimer, Ph. D.

Joel Westheimer is University Research Chair in Democracy and Education at the University of Ottawa and education columnist for CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning show. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University and his B.S.E. from Princeton University. He is co-founder and executive director of Democratic Dialogue, a research collaborative dedicated to the critical exploration of democratic ideals in education and society. Westheimer’s recent award-winning book is Pledging Allegiance: The Politics of Patriotism in America’s Schools (foreword by the late Howard Zinn). He is also author of the critically acclaimed Among Schoolteachers: Community, Autonomy and Ideology in Teachers’ Work. He’s currently working on his third book, Restoring the Public in Public Education. He publishes widely in newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals and addresses radio and television audiences on shows such as Good Morning America, More to Life, The Agenda, NBC TV News, C-Span, NPR, and CBC. He is recipient of the Canadian Education Association’s Whitworth Award and Knight Fellow for Civic Engagement in Higher Education. Westheimer grew up in New York City where he was also a public school teacher. Before moving to Ottawa, he taught at Stanford University and at New York University. He lives with his wife and two children in Ottawa where, in Winter, he ice-skates to and from work.