Gary D Fenstermacher is a Professor of Education at the University of Michigan. He previously held tenured faculty appointments at UCLA, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Arizona. He served as ex officio member of the California Commission for Teacher Preparation and Licensing from 1974-77, as Director of the Northern Virginia Graduate Center at Virginia Tech from 1982-85, and as Dean of the College of Education at the University of Arizona from 1985-1991. In 1990 he was elected to a term as President of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

Dr. Fenstermacher has also served as Senior Associate at the University of Washington's Center for Educational Renewal, and Senior Fellow with the Institute for Educational Inquiry in Seattle, Washington. In these capacities, he has been deeply involved in the educational reform agenda advanced by John I. Goodlad, who directs both the Center and the Institute.

Fenstermacher holds the Ph. D. degree from Cornell University in the philosophy of education. His research interests are the philosophy and politics of teaching. His current research interests pertain to how teachers reason about their practice and how they foster the moral development of their students. Additional scholarly interests are in the analysis of policies pertaining to teaching and teacher education, and in the nature of the connections between democracy and education. His scholarly work is available in over 100 publications (see the curriculum vitae on this web site).