Trey Miller (Ph.D., Stanford University) is an Associate Professor and Provost’s Endowed Professor of Excellence in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). Prior to joining ELPS in 2026, he was Associate Professor of Economics and Director of the Texas Schools Project at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD).  Dr. Miller works closely with education policymakers and practitioners to develop, implement, evaluate, and refine policies and practices to improve student access and success in postsecondary and career and technical education while reducing the cost of education to students and taxpayers.  Recent projects have focused on evaluating innovative strategies to support underprepared college students; assessing the costs and benefits of dual credit education and identifying promising strategies to improve dual credit programs; and evaluating innovative approaches to career and technical education in both Texas and Delaware. 

Dr. Miller has led or co-led more than $17 million in externally funded research supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, the U.S. Department of Education, Spencer Foundation, Lumina Foundation, Arnold Ventures, and other organizations. Dr. Millers research has appeared in leading journals including Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Economics of Education Review, Education Finance and Policy, Journal of Higher Education, Demography, and American Educational Research Journal.  Dr. Miller also has extensive experience presenting research to policymakers and practitioners including the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Texas Association of Community Colleges, the Texas Governor’s Office, and the Texas Senate and House Education Committees; and his commentaries have appeared in outlets including the Texas Tribune, US News and World Report, and the RAND Blog.  Dr. Miller is an Associate Editor for Education Finance and Policy, the flagship journal for the Association for Education Finance and Policy. Dr. Miller is currently developing an Advanced Seminar on K-20 Education Policy (ELPS 695) focused on policies and practices to improve student transitions from K12 education to college and careers that he will teach in Fall 2026.

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