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2024 News

Musa al-Gharbi

Musa al-Gharbi on Elitism and Wokeness

October 29, 2024

Sociologist Musa al-Gharbi, the author of We Have Never Been Woke: The Contradictions of a New Elite, emphasized the importance of diverse perspectives and the challenges of ideological diversity in academia during the 2024 Ray and Nancy Loeschner Lecture Series on Leadership at Northwestern University.

SESP, Medill Offer Fellowships to Journalists

October 10, 2024

The application period is open for the SESP/Medill Education Journalism Collaborative, which pairs three working journalists with master’s students on education projects.

Emma Adam

How Stress Shapes the Mind and Body

October 10, 2024

Northwestern University professor Emma Adam emphasized the fundamental importance of inclusion and belonging for young people’s emotional well-being and long-term health in an interview with Susan Corwith, director of the School of Education and Social Policy’s Center for Talent Development.

Adrija Bhattacharjee

Shining a Light on Bangladeshi Student Protests

October 1, 2024

The violence in Bangladesh during student-led anti-government protests in August deeply affected Adrija Bhattacharjee, a graduate student at Northwestern University's School of Education and Social Policy.

Aimee Resnick

Resnick Wins Women’s Transportation Award

September 30, 2024

Aimee Resnick received the 2024 Future Industry Spotlight Award from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association for her leadership as an intern with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).

Musa al-Gharbi

Musa al-Gharbi to Deliver Annual Loeschner Lecture

September 24, 2024

Sociologist Musa al-Gharbi, who argues that many who embrace progressive “social justice” causes actively benefit from and perpetuate the inequalities they decry, is the featured speaker for the 2024 Ray and Nancy Loeschner Lecture Series on Leadership at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21 at Northwestern University.

Ahmmad Brown and Ritu Tripathi

Brown, Tripathi Take First Place in Case Competition

September 23, 2024

Northwestern University scholars Ahmmad Brown and Ritu Tripathi received first place and a $10,000 prize in the 2024 University of Michigan Global DEI case competition for prompting students to think about how hard it can be to implement new equity policies in global organizations.

Mike Horn teaching students TunePad

Northwestern Secures $1.2 Million Grant to Train STEM Educators

September 18, 2024

Northwestern University received a $1.2 million award from the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program to provide scholarships to undergraduate STEM majors who want to pursue teaching in high-needs school districts.

Liz Shulman

Shulman: Do We Really Want to Outsource Imagination?

September 12, 2024

AI's ability to instantaneously generate content is threatening student creativity, especially during the college application process, Elizabeth Shulman wrote in an opinion piece in Newsweek.

Hailey Danz holding the American flag

SESP Athletes Shine at the Paris Olympics

September 11, 2024

School of Education and Social Policy student athletes and alumni returned from the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics with medals, career bests, and unforgettable experiences. Here’s a quick update on how our athletes did.

Matias Martinez

Depression and the Transition to Adolescence

September 9, 2024

The size of a brain structure involved in memory and learning may play a key role in developing depression during the transition to adolescence, according to new Northwestern University research looking at the interaction between the hippocampus and social environments.

Teachers on Tik Tok: 'I Quit'

Teachers on TikTok: ‘I Quit’

September 6, 2024

Disillusioned American teachers use the social media platform TikTok to portray the profession as fundamentally unsustainable, according to a new case study by Melanie Muskin, a graduate student at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy.

Addison Feldman

Undergrads Win Voyager Scholarships

September 5, 2024

Addison Feldman (pictured) and Ally Peak, both juniors at Northwestern University's School of Education and Social Policy, have been selected for the 2024 Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service, also known as the Voyager Scholarship.

David Rapp

David Rapp: 'Reading Made Me Who I Am'

August 30, 2024

When David Rapp was in high school, he worked in one of his favorite places in the world: The public library. There, the teenager was put in charge of literary classics, magazines, science fiction, and humor sections, all genres he still adores.

Jonathan Guryan

Study: Tutoring + Tech Can Accelerate Learning

August 20, 2024

Frequent, in-person tutoring sessions combined with the strategic use of technology can reduce costs and help overcome pandemic-related learning loss, according to new research co-authored by Northwestern University’s Jonathan Guryan.

Tammy Williams

Softball Standout Named Top Financial Advisor

August 15, 2024

Softball Hall of Famer Tammy Williams wasn’t quite sure which direction to take her career after graduation. She kept playing her sport at elite levels, earned a master’s in business administration, and soon realized she had a knack for both numbers and helping people.

Callegari Wins Cog-Sci Fellowship

August 14, 2024

Graduate student Julia de Oliveira Callegari received a 2024- 2025 Northwestern Cognitive Science Advanced Research Fellowship to support her work looking at the interplay between identity, culture, and learning in children.

Daphne Chan

Olympians Head to Paris

July 24, 2024

The 2024 Olympic Games begin Friday, July 26, followed by the Paralympic Games on Aug. 28. Of the 13 athletes and two coaches affiliated with Northwestern University, four have a connection with the School of Education and Social Policy.

McCann To Receive Alumni Medal

July 22, 2024

Alumna Renetta McCann, a global leader in advertising, media, and organizational change, will receive the alumni medal, Northwestern University’s Alumni Association’s highest honor.

Scholar Athletes Set School Record

July 18, 2024

Thirty-seven student athletes from Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recognition in 2023-24, setting a new School record.

New PhDs toasting

Doctoral Robing: A New SESP Tradition

July 11, 2024

Seven new PhDs were gifted regalia and honored during a special robing ceremony prior to the 2024 convocation celebration as part of a new School of Education and Social Policy tradition.

Haase Wins Ver Steeg Fellowship

June 25, 2024

Developmental psychologist Claudia Haase received the 19th annual Dorothy Ann and Clarence L. Ver Steeg Distinguished Research Fellowship Award for her work probing the mysteries behind emotions and relationships.

Avery Hirschfield

2024 Undergraduate Honors and Awards

June 12, 2024

Avery Hirschfield, who studied learning and organizational change and minored in psychology, received the School of Education and Social Policy’s Alumni Leadership Award for her work as president and co-director of the Global Engagement Summit, a student-led conference uniting entrepreneurs across the world.

Convocation 2024: ‘Go, Go, Go, and Human’

June 12, 2024

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Mitchell S. Jackson encouraged graduates to reflect on the meaning of “human” and use it as a verb during his 2024 convocation address at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy (SESP).

Lillian Fu and Eden Moore

Undergrad Research Shines at Annual Expo

June 9, 2024

Lillian Fu and Eden Moore were honored for their research at Northwestern University’s Undergraduate Research & Arts Expo, which celebrates the accomplishments and discoveries of undergraduates through poster presentations and curated student panel talks.

Sepehr Vakil

AI in Education: Considering Ethics and Power

June 7, 2024

Difficult ethical and moral questions will play a central role in whether artificial intelligence will expand opportunities and equity in STEM education or make things worse, professor Sepehr Vakil said during his closing keynote at a National Science Foundation convening of principal investigators.

Carol Lee

A Complex Legacy: 70 Years Since Brown v. Board

June 5, 2024

On the 70th anniversary of the Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision, Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy and the Pritzker School of Law explore the lingering impact of 1950s integration policies on today’s students.

Eight honors students pose in front of Annenberg with faculty and staff

Meet SESP’s 2024 Honors Students

June 5, 2024

Anxiety, identity, and mentorship emerged as key themes for honors students at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy, who were recognized during a faculty meeting and presented their work at a poster session.

Headshot of Karla Thomas and Forrest Bruce

Graduate Students Receive Dissertation Fellowships

May 31, 2024

Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy graduate students Forrest Bruce (Ojibwe) and Karla Thomas have received highly competitive NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowships to support their research and career development.

Headshot of Mitchell Jackson

Mitchell S. Jackson: Searching for Humanity

May 30, 2024

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Mitchell S. Jackson talked about the liberating power of fiction and his techniques for profiling famously polarizing figures during a wide-ranging conversation with Dean Bryan Brayboy.

David Uttal, a professor of psychology, talks about his research during an investiture ceremony

David Uttal: Maps, Space, and Place

May 8, 2024

David Uttal was 13 years old when he took a wrong turn on a hiking trail in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Rescuers searched for him on foot, trail bike, jeep, and by air, probing thick underbrush and steep ridges across 60,000 acres.

Shanequewa Love

Love Wins National Science Foundation Fellowship

May 1, 2024

Doctoral student Shanequewa Love has been awarded the highly selective National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship to support her work looking at the relationship between Black mothers and the child welfare system.

Mitchell S. Jackson

Mitchell S. Jackson to Speak at Convocation

April 29, 2024

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Mitchell S. Jackson, the John O. Whiteman Dean’s Distinguished Professorship in the English Department of Arizona State University, will be the featured speaker during the 2024 School of Education and Social Policy Convocation ceremony at Northwestern University.

Alivia Britton and Mel McDaniel of the School of Communication are the 2024 co-chairs for Northwestern’s third annual student-run Pow Wow.

Spring Pow Wow: Honoring the Water

April 24, 2024

Undergraduates Alivia Britton (left) and Mel McDaniel are co-chairs of Northwestern University’s annual student-run Spring Pow Wow, an intergenerational cultural celebration sponsored by the Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance.

Headshots of Truman Scholarship Winners Anna Dellit and Kaylyn Ahn   Em: I read the backgrounder but still not clear on whether I should be describing facial features, clothing, race, hair color and length etc. It may be relevant to some people that one person is Asian; others may be offended we call it out.

Undergrad Named Truman Scholar

April 17, 2024

Kaylyn Ahn (right), a junior at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social policy, was one of two Northwestern students to be named a 2024 Truman Scholar, the nation’s premier scholarship for students interested in public service.

Brayboy, Bang to Chair One Book One Northwestern

April 10, 2024

School of Education and Social Policy Dean Bryan Brayboy and Professor Megan Bang, director of the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research, will serve as 2024-2025 co-chairs for for One Book One Northwestern.

SESP Ranked No. 5 by U.S. News

April 9, 2024

For the second year in a row, Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) has been ranked among the top five graduate schools of education according to the 2024-25 U.S. News and World Report Best Education Graduate Schools rankings.

Scholars Head to Philly for AERA 2024

April 8, 2024

More than 75 Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy scholars and alumni are participating in the American Educational Research Association’s annual meeting in Philadelphia April 11 through 14, 2024.

Headshot of Quinn Mulroy

Faculty Member Wins Ver Steeg Award

March 25, 2024

Northwestern University political scientist Quinn Mulroy received The Graduate School’s 2024 Ver Steeg Award for her often behind-the-scenes work supporting graduate students throughout the University, whether she was assigned to formally mentor them or not.

Learning Scientists Named to National Academies’ Committee

March 21, 2024

Northwestern University’s Sepehr Vakil and alumnus Victor Lee (PhD08) of Stanford University have been named to a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine consensus committee charged with looking at artificial intelligence and data science in K-12 education.

Nuamah's Latest Book Named PROSE Award Finalist

March 20, 2024

Sally Nuamah’s latest book, Closed for Democracy, which examines how closing public schools can influence democracy, was named a finalist for the 2024 Professional and Scholarship Excellence (PROSE) Award in the government and politics division.

SESP's New Home: The Jacobs Center

March 15, 2024

Excitement is building as Northwestern begins preparations on one of the University’s top priorities, to turn the Donald P. Jacobs Center into a new hub for the social sciences and global studies.

Closing the Gender Gap in Computer Science

March 12, 2024

Student-run groups designed to foster a sense of belonging and solidarity among women in computer science may help boost female participation in the field, according to new Northwestern University research.

When Black Boys Have Black Teachers

March 8, 2024

Black teachers are less likely to identify same race students as needing special education services, according to new research by Northwestern University alumni Cassandra Hart (PhD11) and Constance Lindsay (PhD10).

Still Trying to Change the World

March 6, 2024

When Renetta McCann was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Fame last year, some of her admirers created a website, filled with such tributes to the trailblazer as “Thanks for lifting as you climb,” and “So glad she’s in my corner.”

Dean Bryan Brayboy is smiling and listening to a faculty member talk during a faculty retreat. Three female faculty members are sitting in front of him.

Brayboy Elected to AERA Leadership

March 1, 2024

Northwestern University’s Bryan Brayboy, a world renowned scholar on race, diversity, and Indigenous experiences in education, was elected to the Council and Executive Board of the American Educational Research Association.

Megan Bang: 'Indian law is American law'

February 22, 2024

Native scholars and law professionals, including School of Education and Social Policy Dean Bryan Brayboy and professor Megan Bang, participated in the conference “100 Years Back, 100 Years Forward: Sovereignty, Community, and Indigenous Futures,” at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

Dan McAdams

The Mass Psychology of Trumpism

February 21, 2024

Donald Trump’s enduring appeal stems from the perception--his own and others’­­--that he is not a person, Northwestern University psychologist Dan P. McAdams wrote in New Lines Magazine. “In the minds of millions, Trump is more than a person,” he wrote. “And he is less than a person too."

Bang, Tipton Named AERA Fellows

February 15, 2024

Northwestern University scholars Megan Bang and Elizabeth Tipton were named 2024 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Fellows for their outstanding contributions to the field.

Worsley Named Jacobs Fellow

February 1, 2024

Northwestern University’s Marcelo Worsley has been named a research fellow with the Jacobs Foundation to support his work helping students learn computer science through sports.

Researchers to Study School Reform in Evanston

February 1, 2024

Northwestern University researchers received a five-year, $4.5 million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation to study racial equity, STEM education, and school reform in Evanston.

Two Degrees. Two Cultures. Infinite Possibilities.

January 11, 2024

Calling her own 17-month experience an “epic adventure,” Ning Yu urged her classmates to embrace adversity and turn obstacles into opportunities during her Master of Science in Social and Economic Policy convocation remarks at Northwestern University’s Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall.

Headshot of OiYan Poon

Affirmative Action: In Conversation With OiYan Poon

January 9, 2024

Scholar and author OiYan Poon will lead a conversation about race, education, and leadership for a diverse democracy in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to strike down race-conscious college admissions.

Headshots Steenbergen-Hu, Olszewski-Kubilius, and Calvert

CTD Researchers Win Mensa Award

January 6, 2024

Scholars from the School of Education and Social Policy’s Center for Talent Development received the Mensa Foundation’s Award for Excellence in Research for a study looking at whether interventions designed to help underachieving gifted students actually work.

Headshots of Tabitha Bonilla

Faculty Member Lauded for Mentorship

January 4, 2024

Tabitha Bonilla received the 2023 Adaljiza Sosa-Riddell Mentor Award from the American Political Science Association for her tireless support of Latino/a graduate students in political science.