Dean Daniel Hamlin - College of Education

Daniel Hamlin, Dean
Lee Hage Jamail Regents Chair in Education
Fellow, H.E. Hartfelder/The Southland Centennial Professorship in Human Resource Development

Daniel Hamlin is the 13th dean of the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin. He began his tenure in August 2026.

An accomplished education policy scholar and leader, Hamlin previously served as Oklahoma’s secretary of education and as a presidential professor of education policy at the University of Oklahoma. He was also the founding director of the Oklahoma Center for Education Policy and a research affiliate with the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University.

As secretary of education, Hamlin led key statewide initiatives to expand teacher certification, build integrated cross-agency data systems, and strengthen K-12 school finance. In 2026, Hamlin worked with state lawmakers to enact major education bills, including the Strong Readers Act, a comprehensive early literacy policy, as well as legislation leading to increased instructional time and higher standards governing teacher qualifications.

In his academic work, Hamlin has authored more than 70 scholarly and applied publications spanning peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and reports for government and policy organizations. His research has appeared in leading academic journals and has been covered by The Wall Street Journal, NPR, NBC, and other national media outlets.

He has received over $10 million in grant funding during his career from organizations that include the National Science Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, the George Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Randall and Lenise Stephenson Family Foundation.

Hamlin earned his Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy from the University of Toronto. Before joining the faculty at the University of Oklahoma, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University where he received the Derek Bok Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.