P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale

Biography

P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, PhD, is the Frances Willard Professor Emerita of Human Development and Social Policy in the School of Education and Social Policy (SESP), Faculty Fellow Emerita at the Institute for Policy Research (IPR), and Vice Provost Emerita, Northwestern University.

She is the first developmental psychologist to be tenured in a U.S. public policy school (the Harris School, University of Chicago), and she was a Congressional Science Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)/Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), serving as a scientific legislative assistant in the office of then-Congressman Paul Simon. 

She specializes in multidisciplinary research on societal issues and how they affect families and the development of children, youth, and parents. Much of her work has resulted in empirical evidence underlying programs and public policies that lead to positive social and educational outcomes. Specific topics include two-generation education interventions for parents and children, early childhood education, community college programs, workforce training, mothers’ employment, as well as family and child well-being. 

Her success in the Office of the Provost (2013-2020) was evident in the following results: more effective communication and collaboration between faculty and Northwestern’s leaders; the establishment of leadership programs for faculty as well as the Provost’s Advisory Council of Women Faculty; innovative faculty programs on how to communicate research findings to the media; strengthening the Searle Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning as well as the Center on Civic Engagement; guidance for the Office of Student Enrichment Services; and individual mentoring for faculty, chairs, associate provosts and vice presidents. 

In 2020, the Provost established the P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale Undergraduate Summer Research Grant in Social Policy for Children and Families, awarded annually to a student in honor of Chase-Lansdale’s service to the University, including her passion for and success in mentoring and advising students, faculty, and leaders.

Chase-Lansdale is an elected member of the National Academy of Education and a fellow in the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. She is the recipient of the Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA) Social Policy Award as well as the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Award for Distinguished Contributions to Public Policy for Children. 

She was an elected member of the Harvard University Board, also serving as Vice Chair. For 25 years, she served on the board of the Foundation for Child Development, a national child policy and research philanthropy, and she chaired the board from 2002-11. She is a member of the inaugural cohort (2012) of the Aspen Institute’s Ascend Leadership Fellowship, designed to bring innovative leaders together to promote a two-generation approach in policy, practice, and research. She also served on the National Advisory Committee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholars Program and chaired the Visiting Committee of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Chase-Lansdale received her BA from Harvard University and Radcliffe College, magna cum laude, in 1974 and her PhD in developmental psychology from the University of Michigan in 1981. She completed the Advanced Management Program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 2016.

Education

• PhD, Developmental Psychology, University of Michigan, 1981
• BA, Social Relations, Harvard University, Radcliffe College, 1974

Awards and Honors

• 2016 – Elected, Harvard Board of Overseers
• 2013 – National Academy of Education
• 2013 – National Advisory Committee (NAC) of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholars program
• 2012 – Ascend Fellow, Aspen Institute.
• 2011 – Society for Research in Child Development Award for Distinguished Contributions to Public Policy for Children
• 2009 – Chair, Visiting Committee, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University
• 2007 – Elected Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science
• 2005 – Elected Fellow of Division 7, Developmental Psychology, of the American Psychological Association
• 2004 – Visiting Scholar, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
• 2004 – Martin E. and Gertrude G. Walder Award for Research Excellence, Northwestern University
• 2004 – Society for Research on Adolescence Social Policy Award for Best Journal Article

Selected Publications

Chor, E., Chase-Lansdale, P.L. et al. (2024) Three-year outcomes for low-income parents of young children in a two-generation education program.Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 17(4), 936-977. 

Sommer, T.E, Tighe, L., Sabol, T.J., Chor, E., Chase-Lansdale, P.L., Yoshikawa, H., Brooks-Gunn, J., Morris, A., & King, C. (2024). The effects of a two-generation English as a Second 

Language (ESL) intervention on immigrant parents and children in Head Start.Applied Developmental Science 28(3), 227-246. 

Sabol, T.J., Sommer, T.E., Chase-Lansdale, P.L., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2021). Intergenerational economic mobility for low-income parents and their children: A dual development science framework.Annual Review of Psychology, 72,265-92. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010419051001 

Sommer, T.E., Schneider, W., Chor, E., Sabol, T.J., Chase-Lansdale, P.L., Brooks-Gunn, J., Yoshikawa, H., Morris, A., & King, C. (2020). A two-generation education intervention and children’s attendance in Head Start.Child Development, 91(6), 1916-1933. doi:10.1111/cdev.13397 

Chase-Lansdale, P.L., Sabol, T.J., Sommer, T.E., Chor, E., Cooperman, A.W., Brooks-Gunn, J., Yoshikawa, H., & Morris, A. (2019). Effects of a two-generation human capital program on low-income parents’ education, employment and psychological well-being.The Journal of Family Psychology, 33(4), 433-443.doi:10.1037/fam0000517