2025: Year in Review

December 18, 2025

In 2025, the School of Education and Social Policy:

Welcomed three new faculty members: Angela Dixon, Zenzile Reddick, and Carrie Tzou.

Hosted John Palfrey, president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, for the 2025 Ray and Nancy Loeschner Lecture Series on Leadership. Award-winning writer and choreographer Larissa FastHorse was our 2025 Convocation speaker.

Received a three-year, $2.6 million grant from The Baxter Foundation to continue our work with the Baxter Center for Science Education (BCSE), a SESP initiative to support educators through cutting-edge science, support classrooms through lab supplies and equipment, and inspire the next generation of STEM leaders.

Created the Center for Responsible Technology, Policy, and Public Dialogue with a $1 million gift from the Kapor Foundation.

Launched two master’s programs:

The Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics (MOD) is for recent college graduates who want to become leaders in learning, change, and innovation across complex workplaces. Accelerated five-year option for Northwestern undergrads.
The Master’s in Technology, People, and Policy Program looks at how new technologies affect society. Students learn both the technical basics and how technology connects to ethics, law, the environment, people, and public policy.

Marked the beginning of the SESP Well-Being Initiative under the direction of professor Claudia Haase, named Associate Dean of Well-Being.

Established the eLEAP scholarship, which builds on research by faculty members Nichole Pinkard, Michael Horn, Matt Easterday, and others. It provides $500 per eligible student for after-school or summer programming across Evanston.

Expanded the practicum to give it more global reach than ever. Undergraduates can complete their practicum through the Global Engagement Summer Institute (GESI) study abroad program. In addition to GESI options—which include South America and Asia—undergrads can study in Sydney, Milan, or Dublin as part of SESP’s Global Practicum Abroad offerings.

Hosted the 2025 Sandra K. Abell Institute, which brought more than two dozen of the world’s most promising PhD's in science education to Northwestern.

Established the Northwestern Collaborative for Applied Research in Education (formerly E4).

Faculty Awards and Honors

Dean Bryan Brayboy was selected to deliver the AERA Distinguished Lecture at the 2026 Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, April 8–12.

Megan Bang was named a fellow of the International Society of Learning Sciences.

Professor Cynthia Coburn was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies. Coburn, a professor of human development and social policy and professor of learning sciences, is a world-renowned expert on partnerships between academic researchers and those working in the field—including teachers, principals, and district leaders.

Susan Corwith, director of the Center for Talent Development, was elected to the NAGC Board of Directors and appointed as a U.S. delegate to the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children.

Paul Goren, executive director of the Northwestern Collaborative for Applied Research in Education, was named chairman of the board of the New Teachers Center, a national large-scale non-profit that focuses on recruiting, mentoring and sustaining the teacher workforce.

Professor Claudia Haase received the Karl Rosengren Faculty Mentoring Award for the second year in a row, recognizing her work with Allison Kim, recipient of this year’s Fletcher Undergraduate Research Prize.

Mike Horn, a professor of computer science and learning sciences, received the Charles Deering Professor of Teaching Excellence Award for his innovative approach to computer science and his ability to inspire a lifelong love of learning, a critical skill in our rapidly changing world.

Professor Jen Munson received a five-year, $815,789 CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation to design spaces that make math as enjoyable as recreational reading. Her project, in collaboration with Evanston/Skokie School District 65, challenges traditional views of math by offering playful, hands-on activities in after-school programs.

Professor Dan P. McAdams received the International Society for Self and Identity’s 2025 Distinguished Lifetime Career Award. It's his third lifetime achievement award. He’ll present a distinguished address at the upcoming 2026 annual SPSP Self and Identity Pre-Conference on Feb. 26, 2026 in Chicago.

Professor Jolie Matthews coauthored Trailblazers: The Unmatched Story of Women’s Tennis, Young Readers Edition with tennis legend Billie Jean King and illustrator Alexandra Badiu. The book features inspiring biographies of more than 20 trailblazing women in the sport and is “ideal for young readers who dream big.”

Professor Emeritus Doug Medin received the David E. Rumelhart Prize, the most important award in the field of cognitive science.

Professor Emerita Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, former director of the Center for Talent development, received the Ann F. Isaacs Founder’s Memorial Award from the National Association for Gifted Children.

Nichole Pinkard, who has spent her career helping young people find and access learning opportunities in their community, was elected to the prestigious National Academy of Education. SESP now has 18 members. Beth Tipton, a fellow with the Institute for Policy Research and co-director of the Statistics for Evidence-Based Policy and Practice Center, was also elected; she holds a courtesy appointment in SESP as professor of human development and social policy.

Doctoral student Tre Wells was awarded the AERA Minority Dissertation Fellowship in Education Research—one of only seven graduate students nationwide to receive the honor for 2025–26. Wells was also inducted into the Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Societ y, which recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and excellence in doctoral education and the professoriate.

Professor Shirin Vossoughi was named coeditor of the journal Cognition and Instruction.

Uri Wilensky, a preeminent scholar in computer modeling and simulations, was awarded the 2025 Yidan Prize for Education Research, the world’s largest prize in education. The honor comes with $3.8 million in support, half of which is a project fund to expand and scale the winner’s education initiatives. Wilensky is the second Yidan Winner in Northwestern history; SESP’s Larry Hedges won in 2018.

Michelle Yin was elected to the National Academy of Social Insurance, the nation’s leading nonpartisan organization focused on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, disability policy, and related areas of social insurance, workforce, and economic security.

Research

Faculty members Megan Bang, Cynthia Coburn and Professor Emerita Carol Lee coauthored the Spencer Foundation Report Enhancing the Preparation of Research for Transformative Research in Education. The report calls for a new approach to graduate education that better prepares researchers to improve schools and communities. It focuses on how to help future and current scholars learn in ways that respond to changing classrooms, communities, and social conditions. Because many experienced researchers also mentor others, their continued growth is seen as key to lasting change.
Professors Kirabo Jackson and Terri Sabol were featured speakers at the annual meeting of The Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness. Professor Zenzile Reddick also participated in a panel.
California has not rebounded to pre-pandemic life expectancy, based on early data obtained from the state, according to new research by Hannes Schwandt published in the medical journal JAMA. The analysis examined how California life expectancy varied by year, income, race and ethnicity, and contributing causes of death.
A working paper by economist Kirabo Jackson and doctoral student Julia Turner finds that universal pre-K can deliver substantial economic benefits. In nine states and cities, the programs increased employment—especially among women—and raised earnings.
A research note co-authored by Sneha Kumar suggests that, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, some mothers were inspired to grow and strengthen their families after witnessing loss in their communities.
Ritu Tripathi coauthored Combating Survey Bots in Online Research in AIS Transactions on Human-Computer Interaction. Her video, Using Gen AI to Explore and Decode Cultural Artifacts, was shortlisted for the 2025 Academy of International Business conference in AI in International Business Teaching and Research competition.
A video annotation tool used in an online professional development course helped teachers better notice and reflect on how students think about math — but the ways teachers noticed varied widely, according to research coauthored by Sarah Larison, Miriam Sherin, and Jennifer Richards.

MEDIA

Faculty experts commented on a range of issues, from Head Start and the labor markets to the importance of spatial development for children.

2025: Year in Review

In 2025, the School of Education and Social Policy:

Faculty Awards and Honors

Research

MEDIA

The 74

The Chicago Tribune

Huffington Post

CNN

Bold

Marketplace

Kids Can't Wait

New York Times

Huffington Post

Forbes

Huffington Post

WBEZ

WTTW Chicago Tonight