News

Updates on a presidential visit, the new Penn GSE building expansion, and more.

At an event honoring the 2022 winners of the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education in New York City in November, Penn GSE announced the largest gift in the School’s history—a $16.25 million commitment from the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation, which will create a new center for educational leadership and continue its annual prize.

Raghu Krishnamoorthy, Ed.D., was named director of the Graduate School of Education’s Penn Chief Learning Officer (CLO) doctoral program in June 2022. He graduated the month before from the same CLO training program.

College sports are an integral part of the university experience. They help with recruiting and retention — and they help the bottom line. Penn GSE’s Karen Weaver teaches one of the country's only courses to prepare university presidents to manage the related complexities.

Dr. Dunn is president of South Dakota State University, where he has worked to significantly increase programming and support for students from South Dakota’s nine tribal nations.

Dr. Logan's innovative leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic enabled Omaha Public Schools to be one of the first large, urban school districts in the nation to return to in-person learning in 2020.

#PennGSEExperts Pam Grossman and Richard M. Ingersoll were interviewed for a recent Philadelphia Inquirer article about the looming crisis. Between 30 and 50 percent of new teachers now leave the profession after their first five years.

New faculty member and former superintendent Dr. Andrea Kane shares her expertise in instructional leadership, access and equity, and more, as she brings her perspective from twenty-five years in public schools to Penn GSE.

Three stories of support underline how giving to Penn GSE is opening doors and bringing hope and opportunity to a new era.

At a time of incredible flux, Penn GSE’s innovative leadership programs are helping create better school environments, amplifying the impact of K-12 leaders, shaping the future of higher education, and producing scholar-practitioners for the workplace.

Four Penn GSE alumni representing varied sectors of education share innovative ways they are helping prepare the workers of the future.

Responding to the emerging needs of educators and leaders, Penn GSE’s Center for Professional Learning cultivates learning and connections that endure.

A powerful, lively, and heartfelt panel took over the second floor of Houston Hall this past week as part of the seventh annual Women of Color in Higher Education Summit

Designed to level the playing field and create a more diverse pool of leaders for Philadelphia schools, the Pathway to Leadership Program will see its first students this summer.

The meeting featured high-level findings from four research studies and a thorough discussion of Penn GSE’s educational framework for practice-based learning.

Penn GSE’s Andrea Kane spoke at a recent panel discussion about the importance of retaining and supporting educational leaders of color.

One of many virtual offerings of Penn GSE’s Center for Professional Learning, the Strategic Leadership Certificate program is helping educators strengthen their effectiveness and deepen their impact.

As 2022 gets rolling, let's take one last look back at our top stories of 2021.

Andrea Kane, who joined Penn GSE this year as a Professor of Practice in Educational Leadership, was recently profiled for The New York Times.

Annie McKee recommended people consider their motivations and needs before quitting a job. “So, it’s really not a question of, ‘Can you be happy when you quit your job?’ You definitely can,” she said. “Rather it’s more of a question of: What are you leaving? What do you no longer want in your work life? And more importantly, what do you want?”

In a new book, Penn GSE Dean Pam Grossman and GSE’s Zachary Herrmann, Sarah Schneider Kavanagh, and Christopher Pupik Dean say the approach can empower students to be engaged citizens and take on modern challenges.

Three distinguished Penn GSE alumni shared their perspectives on finding strength in the face of adversity, supporting mental health, and rallying to improve social justice.

Christina Grant is a 2021 graduate of Penn GSE’s Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership.

Annie McKee offered tips for adjusting to the return to in-person work, such as reconnecting with coworkers. “We've all changed as a result of the pandemic,” she said. “Get to know people again and give yourself the permission to … care about each other.”

Thirteen inaugural members are working to help Penn GSE create spaces for graduates to have meaningful engagement leading to continued professional growth.

Writing in MIT’s Sloan Management Review, Adam Payne, an alum of Penn GSE’s Chief Learning Officer program, and Dana Kaminstein, an adjunct assistant professor at Penn GSE, point to ways that companies dodge diversity and how they can go beyond diversity initiatives to create meaningful change.

Deans Pam Grossman and Erika James argue that to be prepared leaders need to consider the necessary crisis leadership practices that should occur before, during, and after a crisis happens.

There is no universal answer. But Penn GSE’s Karen Weaver says the colleges facing the toughest choices might not be the ones you’d think.

Writing in Harvard Business Review, Kandi Wiens says it’s important to watch out for self-sabotage traps

Jonathan Supovitz explains, “The principals are doing all these amazing things, which are serving urgent needs of kids and families. That’s not taken into account in what we think of as a good school. There is an imbalance between our metrics for assessing quality and the actual role of schools in society.” The Consortium for Policy Research in Education, housed at Penn GSE, has published five briefs about how U.S. school districts and principals have dealt with the pandemic.

Jennifer Stimpson, a chemist, teacher, and recent alumna of the Graduate School of Education’s mid-career program, was named an IF/THEN ambassador. The initiative aims to empower women in STEM to inspire the next generation of learners.

‘We applaud teachers everywhere who share the common bond of inspiring others to learn and to grow,’ said Penn President Amy Gutmann.

Throughout a successful transition to remote learning, Penn GSE’s Chief Learning Officer program has focused on building community among leaders of workplace learning.

Penn GSE’s new Board of Overseers Chair, Doug Korn, W’84, and his predecessor, David Roberts, W’84, support Dean Grossman’s vision and the School’s work creating opportunity through education.

Rebecca Maynard and Brooks Bowden will lead a $4.6 million training program for doctoral fellows from across the University of Pennsylvania pursuing data-driven education research.

Jonathan Supovotiz and John D'Auria have ideas to help leaders collaborate within their districts, schools, and teams to address questions of equity, access, technology, pedagogy, and social-emotional support.

“The more we consider this new reality and the new rules it brings into our curriculum and pedagogy, the more grounded, humanizing, and transformational our teaching and courses will become,” Ravitch said.

Aaron Gerwer will be the new leader at Lea and Lauren Overton will head Penn Alexander. Penn GSE has partnerships with both K-8 schools.

As leaders and educators, Penn GSE alumni are making an impact in urban education across the country.

Penn GSE’s Amy Benedict on the art of virtual networking, lessons learned from the Great Recession, and charting a path to a dream job.

Sundai Riggins, a Penn GSE graduate and principal in Washington, DC, appeared on a CNN/Sesame Street Town Hall to talk about how the pandemic is affecting kids and parents.

Sigal Ben-Porath joined Penn history professor Sophie Rosenfeld to discuss climate change, vaping, and finding the truth on a new Penn podcast.

In announcing the McGraw Prize in Education’s new home at Penn GSE, four past winners talked about what it takes to create and sustain innovation.

Six researchers from Penn GSE have made Education Week’s 2020 Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings list.

Penn GSE alumnus Eduardo (Tony) A. Alleyne, GRD’16, works to help first-generation, low-income high school students prepare for college.

Michael Johanek says school leaders can improve their decision making by improving how they assess problems.

John D'Auria offers two strategies school leaders can use to turn conflict into open dialogue

How distributed leadership might work in schools