Strategic Planning

Shaping SESP’s Future Together

The Northwestern School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) has long been a place where we honor the past, meet the moment, and set the stage for the future. As the No. 2 ranked graduate school of education according to U.S. News & World Report, SESP is a school of distinction that combines the rigor of a world-class research university with a commitment to improving lives through social policy, education, and human development.

As SESP approaches its centennial in July 2026, commemorating one hundred years of scholarship, practice, and public impact, there is a natural moment for reflection and an opportunity to consider its vision for the future. The fields SESP has long shaped are being reshaped themselves: by technology, shifting policy landscapes, and urgent questions about equity and opportunity. This is exactly the moment to coalesce around who SESP is and what the school stands for – both to our own community and to those we serve. That’s why we are launching a comprehensive strategic planning effort – to align around a shared vision, clarify what makes SESP distinctive, and position the school with intention for its second century. In this way, we can ensure the milestone year points not only to the past with pride, but forward with purpose and ambition.

“It’s a moment to reflect on the remarkable foundation our community has built over generations, and to think boldly about the future we want to create together. This strategic plan will define our direction for the next five years, and be rooted in our strengths, lifting up all that makes SESP distinctive while helping us chart a clear, unifying, and ambitious path forward."

 
- Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy, Dean, Carlos Montezuma Professor of Education and Social Policy

Beginning in May 2026 and continuing through the coming academic year, SESP will consult its community through collaborative research and listening. The resulting plan will sharpen the school's identity, elevate its profile, and chart a clear course for the next five years and beyond.

Process & Goals

The strategic planning initiative will draw on a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, University leadership, and partner organizations to build a shared vision, mission, values, and key priority areas for SESP.

The planning process will aim to:

• Gather perspectives, ideas, and feedback from key stakeholders
• Refresh the schools’ mission, vision, and values statements
• Develop a strategic plan to guide decision-making, philanthropy, and resource allocation over the next three to five years.
• Provide clarity and promote a united approach to key priorities

The final deliverables will include a strategic plan document, including vision, mission, and values statements and a selection of key priorities and actionable goals for further development.

Strategic planning consultants Jennifer Judge Hensel and Marisa Quinn will work closely with the SESP community to conduct an inclusive strategic planning process, working closely with key faculty and staff leaders to gather and synthesize stakeholder input from across the SESP community.

Project Phases & Timelines

Engagement and Governance

The process will seek broad, representative input from across the school, ensuring all voices help shape the plan. This includes faculty, staff, students, alumni, and external partners.

This will include:

• Surveys, meetings, focus groups, and individual interviews;
• A robust governance structure, including a Core Working Group and Steering Committee that will help shape and steward the plan; and
• Writing groups to develop concrete goals across key priority areas.

Get involved. Stay tuned for ways to participate!

Submit questions or concerns via this form.

Governance Groups

The following groups will support the strategic planning effort, with Dean Brayboy as the primary sponsor.

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee includes representatives from our constituent groups who act as advisors and ambassadors and expand engagement of key SESP members. The steering committee collaborates with our consultants to guide and provide input throughout the process and advise on stakeholder engagement to ensure it is inclusive.

Members include:

• Carrie Tzou, Associate Dean, Professor
• Jonathan Guryan, Lawyer Taylor Professor Of Education And Social Policy
• Megan Bang, James E. Johnson Professor Of Learning Sciences
• Susan Olson, Associate Dean Of Student Affairs
• Mike Hannen, Senior Director, Information Technology
• David Brazy, Marketing And Communications Director
• Lizzie Perkins, Director Of Fuse
• Taylor Topham, Graduate Student
• Valentina Parra, Undergraduate Student

Core Working Group

The core working group, which includes the members on the steering committee, will participate in retreats to develop our mission, vision, and values; identify priorities to advance the mission; identify writing group participants; review materials and findings from surveys and interviews; provide copy editing for planning drafts, and ensure alignment with broader institutional priorities.

Members include:

• Bryan Brayboy, Dean
• Coleen Coleman, Associate Dean
• Carrie Tzou, Associate Dean
• Claudia Haase, Associate Dean for Well-Being
• Jon Guryan, Lawyer Taylor Professor of Education and Social Policy
• Megan Bang, James E. Johnson Professor of Learning Sciences
• Susan Corwith, Director of the Center for Talent Development
• David Brazy, Director of Marketing and Communications
• Susan Olson, Associate Dean of Student Affairs
• Cynthia Coburn, Margaret Walker Alexander Professor
• Mary Goodman, Director of Development
• Jeanne Hughes, Assistant Dean for Research
• Melissa Weidman, Director of Human Resources
• Jen Munson, Associate Professor
• Nichole Denise Pinkard, Alice Hamilton Professor of Learning Sciences
• Shirin Vossoughi, Associate Professor
• Jim Spillane, Olin Professor
• Mike Horn, Professor
• Zenzile Riddick, Assistant Professor
• Ryan Smerek, Associate Director

Writing Groups

At the stage of priority development, small writing groups comprising relevant constituencies will inform detailed action planning to achieve stated priorities.

Phase One Update

One of the key goals of the SESP Strategic Planning Process is to benefit from the full range of ideas and perspectives of our extended school community. Since launching the planning process in May 2026, we have heard from more than 700 faculty, students, staff, alumni, community partners, donors, and University leaders through surveys, interviews and focus groups. Additional outreach will continue in the fall, particularly to gain insights from undergraduate students.

The following illustrates stakeholder engagement conducted from June through September 2026:

Stakeholder Engagement by the Numbers

700+ individual voices engaged across every SESP constituency.

• 501 alumni of 12,000 invited; 4% response rate; ±4.5% margin (95% confidence interval). Within industry standard.
• 45 faculty and post-docs of 76 invited; 59% response rate; ±9% margin (95% confidence interval). Slightly above industry standard.
• 83 staff of 129 invited; 64% response rate; ±6.5% margin (95% confidence interval). Within industry standard.
• 27 interviews with faculty, staff, school and University leaders, and the Board of Advisors.
• 5 focus groups with 32 people: master’s and PhD students, staff, instructional faculty, and the Board of Advisors.
• Planned for fall 2026: undergraduate student engagement.

Initial Findings | Areas of Alignment Across Groups

While various individuals and groups had distinct perspectives about SESP’s strengths, challenges and future opportunities, the following emerged as key themes across all constituencies:

Strengths

• Intellectual and disciplinary breadth. SESP is viewed as unusually able to connect learning sciences, human development, social policy, education, organizations, economics, technology, and related fields.
• High-quality scholarship and reputation. Stakeholders describe strong research, influential scholars, historically strong grant activity, and a reputation that is outsized relative to the school’s size.
• Committed people and relational culture. Stakeholders describe accessible faculty, supportive colleagues, and a genuine desire to do good.
• Adaptability and opportunity. SESP’s interdisciplinary structure, joint appointments, external partnerships, and history in learning sciences provide a platform for leadership on emerging questions.

Challenges and Opportunities

• Re-articulation of the school’s mission identity. Many see an opportunity for SESP to have a more coherent articulation of its mission and identity.
• Collaboration and cohesion. SESP’s interdisciplinary breadth is a major asset that has not been fully optimized, and many would welcome incentives to encourage thoughtful, mission-driven collaboration.
• Community. Faculty, staff and students appreciate efforts by SESP leaders to cultivate community, and look forward to more occasions to gather, noting the move to the new building offers opportunities.
• Lead on AI, learning, human development, and the future of work. AI emerged as both a challenge and an opportunity, with many noting that SESP is positioned to address the human and social consequences of technological and institutional change.
• External headwinds. Federal research-funding contraction and the broader political environment were raised as challenges, as was higher-ed affordability and the cost-value proposition for teachers.

Next Steps

Preliminary findings from the Phase One stakeholder engagement have informed the development of proposed mission, vision and values statements. SESP faculty, staff, and students are reviewing those statements.

Once finalized, the mission and vision will serve as the destination for SESP – our North Star – and planning leadership groups that include faculty, student, and staff representation will work to identify strategic priorities for SESP to consider advancing to achieve its aspirations.

Questions and Comments

Have a question or a comment? Please contact Marketing and Communications Director David Brazy and david.brazy@northwestern.edu.