ASU alum awarded prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship

Michael Meaney, a graduate of Arizona State University, was selected as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. The scholarship pays full tuition for students from outside the United Kingdom to earn a postgraduate degree from the University of Cambridge.

Meaney will further his research in education policy at Cambridge.  He plans to pursue a master’s of philosophy in education research. Meaney will study the impact of massive open online courses (MOOCs) and other models of online learning in higher education. In particular, he will see if these models for online learning can increase educational equity in higher education.

Meaney earned a master’s in secondary education from ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Teacher’s College. Currently, he is a manager of Education and Workforce Innovation in the Office of the President at ASU.

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship recognizes students with outstanding intellectual ability and leadership potential who are committed to improving the lives of others. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation established the scholarship through a $210 million donation to the University of Cambridge. Meaney will be one of 35 Gates Cambridge Scholars from the United States to enroll at the university in the fall; 1,000 students applied for the scholarship.