2019 News Stories

2019 News Stories

  • December 2019 News Stories

  • November 2019 News Stories

    • SESP Hosts Education Writers' Seminar on College Pathways
      Almost all high school graduates now attend college, but that doesn’t mean they’re receiving a degree, Northwestern University’s James Rosenbaum told journalists during a two-day Education Writers Association seminar in Chicago that explored gaps between high school and post-secondary education.
      11/22/19
    • Job Openings for Students New to Research
      Several School of Education and Social Policy faculty members are looking for undergraduate students with no prior experience to help with research projects as part of the Undergraduate Research Assistant Program (URAP).
      11/11/19
    • New STEPP Center To Build an ‘Evidence-Based Ecosystem’
      To boost policymaking in the education fields, Hedges and statistician Elizabeth Tipton have established the Statistics for Evidence-Based Policy and Practice (STEPP) Center at the Institute for Policy Research.
      11/11/19

  • October 2019 News Stories

    • College Counseling: Can High Schools Do It Well?
      High school guidance counselors can significantly influence whether young people pursue higher education. But counseling offices are often understaffed and juggling large caseloads and competing demands, according to Northwestern University researchers.
      11/4/19
    • Tony Jack on Diversity: 'Access Ain't Inclusion'
      Colleges and universities must deliberately move from access to inclusion, sociologist Anthony Jack told a crowd of more than 600 people during Northwestern University’s Nancy and Ray Loeschner Leadership Series at Alice Millar Chapel.
      10/29/19
    • Reunion 2019: SESP Hosts Alumni Luncheon
      Two dozen School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) alumni from a wide range of careers will join current undergraduates for networking conversations and lunch at noon in Annenberg Hall, room GO2.
      10/17/19
    • SESP Faculty Members Join IPR
      Tabitha Bonilla and Sally Nuamah have been named faculty fellows at Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research, an interdisciplinary community of scholars.
      10/2/19
    • Harvard's Anthony Jack To Deliver Loeschner Leadership Lecture
      Anthony Abraham Jack, author of The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students, will be speaking on campus culture and inequity in education as part of Northwestern University’s Nancy and Ray Loeschner Leadership Series.
      10/2/19
    • Reunion 2019: SESP Alumni Connect With Undergrads
      More than two dozen alumni returned home to the School of Education and Social Policy for Reunion 2019, where they talked with undergraduates about everything from networking and travel to lifelong learning.
      10/31/19
    • A Peek Inside the Principal’s Office: 'It’s a Pressure Cooker'
      School principals often have too much to do and not enough time to do it. They share leadership duties but have ultimate responsibility for the school and everyone inside of it. And they have to meet the demands of everyone -- from parents and school board members to teachers and students.
      10/31/19
    • Pinkard Receives Grant to Reduce Computer Science Deserts
      Northwestern University professor Nichole Pinkard received a CME Group Foundation grant to expand her work increasing access to computer science for K-12 students who live in underserved areas of Chicago.
      10/29/19
    • Tabitha Bonilla Joins SESP Faculty
      Tabitha Bonilla, a political scientist who studies how messaging influences voters’ responses to political issues and candidates, has joined Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy as assistant professor of human development and social policy.
      10/14/19
    • Ispa-Landa Named Associate Professor
      Northwestern University education sociologist Simone Ispa-Landa received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of human development and social policy in the School of Education and Social Policy beginning Sept. 1, 2019.
      10/2/19

  • September 2019 News Stories

    • Sally Nuamah: The Education Disruptor
      Education wasn’t a sure thing for Sally Nuamah. Raised by a single mother in a low-income Chicago neighborhood, Nuamah was the child of immigrants, black and female.
      9/8/19
    • SESP in the Media: September 2019
      An ongoing, monthly roundup of appearances in the news media by School of Education and Social Policy faculty, researchers, and our community.
      7/26/19

  • August 2019 News Stories

    • CT-STEM Helps Teachers Reimagine Curriculum
      Real scientists generally don’t collect data by hand and crunch numbers using a calculator. So when Teresa Granito teaches biology at Evanston Township High School in the fall, she’ll introduce her students to some of the same computer modeling tools used by the pros.
      8/16/19
    • Study: School Segregation Drives Racial Gaps in Special Ed Placement
      Black and Hispanic students are placed into special education classes more often when attending majority-white schools, according to a new working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
      8/2/19
    • Evanston Middle Schoolers Visit Campus
      When Northwestern University doctoral student Eric Brown was recruiting students at Evanston’s Nichols Middle School for his dissertation research, at least five or six asked whether he'd be interviewing them on campus.
      8/16/19
    • Families Are The Solution, Not The Problem
      Schools need to partner with families and communities to help combat systemic violence against immigrants, people of color, and other marginalized groups, researchers concluded in a new policy memo co-authored by Northwestern University professor Megan Bang.
      8/9/19
    • Preparing Policy-Minded Scholars
      Gender, health, and education researcher Mollie McQuillan was one of more than 30 Northwestern doctoral students from across the University who worked with faculty researchers at the Institute for Policy Research (IPR) as a graduate research assistant last year.
      8/29/19
    • SESP in the Media: August 2019
      An ongoing, monthly roundup of appearances in the news media by School of Education and Social Policy faculty, researchers, and our community.
      7/26/19
    • SESP Enriches Undergraduate Curriculum
      The School of Education and Social Policy updated its undergraduate curriculum to emphasize global engagement, advanced research methods, experiential learning, and more, Dean David Figlio announced.
      8/24/19
    • Connective Tissue: A Healthy Part of Education
      Nichole Pinkard’s high school basketball coach also happened to be her computer science teacher. By the time she graduated, she’d taken eight programming classes and could visualize her future -- a career in the field.
      8/21/19
    • MSHE Alumna Receives Award For Excellence
      Milvia Rodriguez (MSHE15) received the University of Chicago’s Marlene F. Richman Award for Excellence and Dedication in Service to Students, an honor given to just one person at the University each year.
      8/22/19
    • Student Philanthropists Give Away Money
      Northwestern University undergraduates gave away $22,500 each to the non-profits Storycatchers Theater and Chicago Hopes for Kids as part of the School of Education and Social Policy course Learning Philanthropy: Engaging in the Study and Practice of Giving.  
      8/16/19

  • July 2019 News Stories

    • CTD Director’s Book Wins National Honor
      Paula Olszewski-Kubilius’s latest book, which details a talent development approach to gifted education, was named the 2019 Book of the Year by the National Association for Gifted Children.
      7/30/19
    • Are All Head Start Classrooms Created Equal?
      Individual classrooms within the Head Start program vary in quality and don’t always reflect the school as a whole, according to a new Northwestern University study published in the American Educational Research Journal.  
      7/30/19

  • June 2019 News Stories

    • SESP in the Media: July 2019
      An ongoing, monthly roundup of appearances in the news media by School of Education and Social Policy faculty, researchers, and our community.
      7/26/19
    • SESP Boasts 26 B1G Ten Distinguished Scholars
      Twenty-five percent of the school-record 86 Northwestern student-athletes who earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recognition are studying in the School of Education and Social Policy.
      7/25/19
    • How Five SESP Students Landed Summer Internships
      Five SESP undergraduates were selected for the 2019 Summer Internship Grant Program (SIGP), which provides students $3,000 for completing an unpaid summer internship, while simultaneously participating in a professional development program offered by Northwestern Career Advancement (NCA).
      6/20/19
    • Emissions-Cheating Vehicles Linked to Worse Health in Babies, Children Across U.S. 
      A new study conducted by researchers at Northwestern University and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is the first to show that diesel cars implicated in the emissions-cheating scandal had population-level impacts on infant and child health.
      6/18/19
    • Senior Honors Students Recognized By Dean, Faculty
      School of Education and Social Policy Honors and Civic Engagement Certificate students presented their research findings and Capstone Projects to Dean David Figlio and faculty members.
      6/18/19
    • 2018-19: A Year of Outstanding Research and Scholarship
      Northwestern University will recognize exceptional graduating students Thursday, June 20 at Cahn Auditorium as part of Commencement week ceremonies. We round up all winners from the School of Education and Social Policy community during 2918-19, including undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni. 
      6/17/19
    • Athletes Shine on the Field, Mat
      After leading Northwestern with 85 goals and breaking Northwestern's career goal record, Selena Lasota received Inside Lacrosse First Team All-American honors and is a finalist for the 2019 Honda Sports Award.
      6/12/19
    • Yidan Prize Winner Announces New Education Research Center
      Northwestern University Professor Larry Hedges, a founding father of meta-analysis in education, laid plans for transforming education systems in the U.S. and globally, during his opening address at the Yidan Prize Conference Series: The Americas.
      6/11/19
    • Northwestern Academy Graduates Third Class of College-Bound Seniors
      Northwestern Academy for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) honored 65 CPS students destined for 30 prestigious colleges and universities across the country at its third annual senior celebration.
      6/26/19
    • Record Number of SESP Students Named Fulbright Finalists
      A school-record five School of Education and Social Policy students have been named finalists for the Fulbright student program, one of the most widely recognized and respected international exchange opportunities.
      6/16/19
    • 2019 Convocation:  ‘How You Gonna Win If You Ain’t Right Within?’
      With inspiration from singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill, Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) dean David Figlio urged graduates to learn from their mistakes and keep cultivating better versions of themselves.
      6/28/19
    • Scholar Athletes Earn All-Big Ten Honors
      More than 20 percent of the Northwestern University athletes who received at-large and spring Academic All-Big Ten honors are pursuing degrees in the School of Education and Social Policy, a community that emphasizes learning, leadership, and policy.
      6/11/19
    • SESP Senior Headed to Springfield
      Northwestern University senior Michael Deneroff of Bloomfield, Michigan, received the James H. Dunn Jr. Memorial Fellowship, which gives recent college graduates the chance to work in Illinois state government and learn about general governmental structure at the executive level.
      6/11/19

  • May 2019 News Stories

    • Evanston Sixth Graders Use ‘Design Thinking’ to Tackle Climate Change
      A straw made from wheatgrass, stormwater ice cream, and a food waste prevention app were just some the solutions Evanston sixth graders devised to address climate change as part of the first citywide project-based learning showcase.
      6/3/19
    • Graduate Student Wins Presidential Fellowship
      Doctoral candidate Heather McCambly, who researches the forces behind educational inequalities in higher education, received Northwestern University’s most prestigious award for graduate students, the 2019 Presidential Fellowship.
      5/28/19
    • Three Secrets For Working Across Disciplines
      A short attention span and the inability to say ‘no’ can be useful traits for a transdisciplinary scientist, Northwestern University’s David Uttal said, only half joking, during an event celebrating a new facility within the Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences (DevSci).
      5/24/19
    • MSED Student Wins Knowles Teaching Fellowship
      Northwestern University’s Bradley Smith, a future high school math teacher who is pursuing his master’s degree through The Accelerated Master of Science in Education program, has received a five-year fellowship from the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation.
      5/24/19
    • First Computer Science-Learning Sciences Symposium Draws World's Top Scholars
      Computer science classes and boot camps have never been more popular in the US and worldwide. But how can educators help the next generation use this technology to their advantage?  And how can that information reach everyone – not just those drawn to the traditional notions of computer science?
      5/23/19
    • Destin, Cohen Receive Teaching Excellence Awards
      Professor Mesmin Destin and instructor Danny M. Cohen (PhD11) were among five educators honored with 2019 University Teaching Awards for their energy and commitment to undergraduate education at Northwestern University.
      5/19/19
    • Economist Mary Daly: 'Bloom Where You’re Planted'
      Fresh off a commencement speech at Syracuse University, economist Mary Daly spoke with SESP Dean David Figlio in Annenberg Hall as part of SESP's Nancy and Ray Loeschner Lecture Series.
      5/19/19
    • Former U.S. Secretary of Education To Address Class of 2019
      Arne Duncan, the unusually-candid U.S. Secretary of Education under President Barack Obama, will address the undergraduate class of 2019 during SESP Convocation ceremonies. Shirley Welsh Ryan, a 2019 recipient of an honorary degree from Northwestern University, is scheduled to speak at the graduate ceremony.
      5/3/19
    • SESP in the Media: May 2019
      An ongoing, monthly roundup of appearances in the news media by School of Education and Social Policy faculty, researchers, and our community.
      3/5/18
    • Undergrad Sets Research Grant Record
      Undergraduates Jordyn Ricard and Jared Zvonar received summer research grants from Northwestern University’s Office of Undergraduate Research for projects related to mental health and history, respectively.
      5/4/19
    • Student Startup Places Sixth in Rice Competition
      BrewBike, a student-run coffee company, brought home big honors — and funding — in the 2019 Rice Business Plan Competition hosted by Rice University.
      5/6/19
    • Why You Don’t Want to Leave School During a Recession
      The bad luck of leaving school during hard economic times can lead to higher rates of early death and permanent differences in life circumstances, Northwestern University’s Hannes Schwandt wrote in a policy brief. 
      5/5/19
    • Adam to Discuss Work on Sleep, Equity
      Emma Adam, one of the world’s leading researchers on stress, race, and sleep, will discuss Sleep Equity: Good Sleep as a Resource (and a Right?) during the One SESP Graduate Student Dinner and Discussion.
      5/6/19
    • Federal Reserve CEO to Speak on Leadership
      Mary Daly, a high school dropout who is now president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, will discuss leadership for social good during the Nancy and Ray Loeschner Leadership Series at Northwestern University. 
      5/3/19
    • Computer Scientists and Learning Scientists Join Forces
      Computer science classes and boot camps have never been more popular. But how can we help the next generation of students feel empowered by this technology? And how can that education reach everyone – not just those who are drawn to the traditional notions of computer science?
      5/4/19

  • April 2019 News Stories

    • SESP in the Media: April 2019
      An ongoing, monthly roundup of appearances in the news media by School of Education and Social Policy faculty, researchers, and our community.
      3/5/18
    • Destin, Cohen Honored With University Teaching Awards
      Professor Mesmin Destin and instructor Danny M. Cohen (PhD11) were honored with 2019 University Teaching Awards for their outstanding efforts and dedication to undergraduate education at Northwestern University.
      4/28/19
    • Northwestern Academy Supports Evanston Students
      Northwestern University’s successful college access program for underserved, high-achieving students at Evanston Township High School has been renamed “Northwestern Academy – Evanston.”
      4/25/19
    • FUSE Partners with Smithfield Foundation
      Company’s contribution will create FUSE Studios at 20 schools across Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, and South Dakota.
      4/24/19
    • Northwestern Academy Students Tour Colleges Across the Nation
      Northwestern Academy for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students visited 21 college campuses from Southern California to Pennsylvania during their annual spring break trip.
      4/24/19
    • Diane Nash, Civil Rights Icon, to Speak at Northwestern
      Esteemed civil rights activist, leader, and organizer Diane Nash will participate in a community conversation Thursday, April 25, on Northwestern University’s Evanston campus.
      4/23/19
    • Eve L. Ewing on Leadership, Racial Trauma
      Eve L. Ewing struggled as a black student at a predominantly white university. But as she learned to cope with the repercussions of racism, she also gained clarity about her relationship with higher education.
      4/19/19
    • Spillane Coaches Education Leaders in Asia
      Professor James Spillane delivered a keynote speech on school leadership and led a related workshop during the recent Global Education Leadership Summit in Bangkok.
      4/17/19
    • Northwestern Hosts First Computer Science and Learning Sciences Symposium
      Distinguished leaders and rising stars in computer science and learning sciences will explore the challenges and opportunities facing the field of education during the first annual symposium on computing and learning April 28- 30 at Northwestern University. 
      4/15/19
    • Rosenbaum Receives Career Award – But Far From Slowing Down
      James Rosenbaum’s ability to cultivate talented researchers and his passion for tackling pressing social issues recently earned him the Elizabeth G. Cohen Distinguished Career in Applied Sociology of Education Award from the American Education Research Association.
      4/10/19
    • SESP Heads to Toronto for AERA
      SESP faculty, alumni, postdocs and graduate students will be presenting at the 2019 American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting April 5 through April 9, the world’s largest gathering of education researchers.
      4/3/19
    • Alumni Honored With Golden Apple Award
      Alumni Sara Blair Winter-Rosenberg (MS12) and Corey Winchester (BS10) received a welcome surprise in their respective classrooms when Golden Apple Foundation officials – along with colleagues, family, and friends -- flooded in to announce they’d won 2019 Excellence in Teaching and Leadership awards.
      4/1/19

  • March 2019 News Stories

    • Vakil: Equity is More Than Inclusion
      Computer science educators should think more deeply about the ethical, political, and social justice consequences of their work, Northwestern University’s Sepehr Vakil wrote in a commentary published in the March issue of the magazine Communications of the Association for Computer Machinery.
      3/21/19
    • Eve L. Ewing to Host Loeschner Leadership Series Event
      Chicago writer and sociologist of education Dr. Eve L. Ewing will discuss scholarship, leadership, and effective community activism as part of the Nancy and Ray Loeschner Leadership Series at Northwestern University.
      3/21/19
    • SESP in the Media: March 2019
      An ongoing, monthly roundup of appearances in the news media by School of Education and Social Policy faculty, researchers, and our community.
      3/5/18
    • Sepehr Vakil Wins CAREER Award
      Northwestern University’s Sepehr Vakil received the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the agency’s most prestigious honor for promising young academics.
      3/20/19
    • Women in STEM: How Can Universities Close Gender Gaps? 
      Colleges and universities that invest in gender parity ultimately help support women pursuing careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), according to a new book co-authored by Northwestern University’s Lois Trautvetter.
      3/19/19
    • The Cost of a Twin Brother
      Women who shared their mother’s womb with a male twin are less likely to graduate from high school or college, have earned less by their early 30s, and have lower fertility and marriage rates when compared with twins who are both female, according to new Northwestern University research. 
      3/18/19
    • Preview Days Showcase MSHE Program
      Bridget O’Connell (MS17) is a career changer who found “her place” in higher education. After working for more than a decade in engineering, she now helps undergraduate and graduate students explore their career goals and find meaningful employment.
      3/13/19
    • Doctoral Candidate Selected to Millennium Scholars Program
      While working as an eighth-grade math teacher, Andrea Kinghorn Busby saw how her students’ lives outside school intersected with their classroom experiences.
      3/7/19
    • Economists and Psychologists Agree: Inequality Saps Opportunities and Motivation
      Rising economic inequality makes people less likely to believe that upward mobility is possible, shaping both their motivation and behavior, according to a research review published in the journal Nature Human Behavior.
      3/2/19
    • Can Female Principals Be Caring and Commanding?
      White and black novice female principals adopt vastly different leadership styles at the beginning of their careers, according to new Northwestern University research that looks at how race and gender intersect for professional educators.
      3/2/19
    • Alumna Named Associate Dean of Teacher Education
      Kavita Kapadia Matsko (MS97) knew she wanted to be a teacher from a young age. But it wasn’t until she came to Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) that she realized her passion included preparing the teachers themselves.
      3/7/19

  • February 2019 News Stories

    • Does a Teen's Bedtime Really Matter?
      An earlier bedtime may help teenagers by improving executive functioning abilities like memory, self-control, and problem solving, according to preliminary Northwestern University research.
      2/27/19
    • Corey Winchester: Disrupting Education
      Corey Winchester (BS10) never went to school simply to get good grades, Clare Proctor wrote in the Daily Northwestern. “For him, it was about learning, a mindset he credits to his family and first-grade teacher.”
      2/24/19
    • Three Alumni Earn Golden Apple Distinction
      Three School of Education and Social Policy alumni were named finalists for the 2019 Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching, which recognizes some of the most talented educators in the state.
      2/14/19
    • Diane Schanzenbach Elected to National Academy of Education
      Economist Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, director of the Institute for Policy Research (IPR), has been elected to the esteemed National Academy of Education (NAEd) in recognition of her outstanding research contributions on education issues.
      2/11/19
    • Faculty Spotlight: Terri Sabol Rethinks Early Childhood Education
      The promise of change guides Terri Sabol’s thinking—and rethinking—of early childhood education issues. She examines how classrooms, families, and neighborhoods each play a role in a child’s development. 
      2/9/19
    • SESP in the Media: February 2019
      An ongoing, monthly roundup of appearances in the news media by School of Education and Social Policy faculty, researchers, and our community.
      3/5/18

  • January 2019 News Stories

    • Undergrads Win Research Grants
      A school-record 14 School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) students received Academic Year Undergraduate Research Grants (AYURG) to study everything from female entrepreneurship and empowerment the use of technology to discipline students.
      1/30/19
    • Five SESP Faculty Named to Edu-Scholar List
      Five School of Education and Social Policy scholars were named to Education Week’s “Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings,” which recognize 200 of the most influential academics in education policy.
      1/28/19
    • SESP in the Media: January 2019
      An ongoing, monthly roundup of appearances in the news media by School of Education and Social Policy faculty, researchers, and our community.
      3/5/18
    • How Leaders Can Lighten the Load
      Initiative overload. It’s a condition many employees experience when senior leaders launch too many major projects.
      1/24/19
    • Madison Named Civic Leadership Academy Fellow
      Sybil Madison has been named to the Civic Leadership Academy at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, a program for promising leaders in non-profit organizations and local government agencies within Chicago and Cook County.
      1/17/19
    • Worsley Recognized for Diversity, Inclusion Efforts
      Marcelo Worsley will receive the 2019 Daniel Linzer Award for Faculty Excellence in Diversity and Equity for his innovative teaching and efforts to bring STEM education to all, regardless of physical ability.
      1/17/19
    • Mesmin Destin Wins Early Career Award
      Northwestern University psychologist Mesmin Destin, whose research emphasizes the key role socioeconomic status plays in the study of human behavior, was recognized by the American Psychological Association (APA) for his stellar work in the early stages of his career.
      1/15/19
    • Wallace Receives Alumnae Graduate Fellowship
      Alexzandra Wallace has been awarded the 2019 Alumnae Graduate Fellowship by The Alumnae of Northwestern University, which is given to full-time graduate students and promising young scholars who have shown qualities such as scholarship, leadership, community service, professional experience, and financial need.
      1/15/19
    • Wilensky Named Lorraine Morton Professor
      Northwestern University’s Uri Wilensky, a pioneer in learning technology and computational modeling, has been named the Lorraine Morton Professor of Learning Sciences and Computer Science, David Figlio, Dean of the School of Education and Social Policy (SESP), announced.
      1/11/19
    • Bang, Vossoughi Win Alumnae Award
      Megan Bang and Shirin Vossoughi have been named the 2019 recipients of The Alumnae of Northwestern University’s Award for Curriculum Development.
      12/18/18