Education and the Development of Knowledge
Projects in the Education and the Development of Knowledge program area inform policy and practice in support of high-quality, lifetime educational opportunities for all Americans. The program area continues the Ƶ’s enduring focus on the vital role education and knowledge development play in our nation and in our world. From advancing equitable educational outcomes to leveraging new developments in the learning sciences and digital technologies to questioning how domestic and international scholarly work may be affected by advances in machine learning, the Education and the Development of Knowledge program area – through commissions, projects, convenings, and publications – draws upon scholars and practitioners from various fields and disciplines to explore the conditions that foster the creation, transfer, and preservation of knowledge in a global context.
Program Advisory Committee
CHAIR
Michael McPherson
formerly, Spencer Foundation
MEMBERS
Deborah Loewenberg Ball
University of Michigan
Philip Bredesen
former Governor of Tennessee
Howard Gardner
Harvard Graduate School of Education
David L. Lee
Clarity Partners, LP
Richard Light
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Kathleen McCartney
Smith College
Paula D. McClain
Duke University
Joseph Neubauer
formerly, Aramark Corporation
Nancy Peretsman
Allen and Company
Paul Sagan
General Catalyst Partners
Morton Schapiro
Northwestern University
Marcelo Suárez-Orozco
University of Massachusetts Boston; formerly, University of California, Los Angeles
Beverly Daniel Tatum
Spelman College
PROJECT
Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education
The Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education is a multiyear initiative charged with examining the current state of American undergraduate education, projecting the nation’s short-term and long-term educational needs, and offering recommendations to strengthen all aspects of undergraduate education. The Commission–whose members include leaders from higher education, philanthropy, business, and government–reviewed the research and data; met with students and faculty members, experts, and state and federal policy-makers; and produced a data-based primer on the student journey through college, four in-depth research papers, a comprehensive final report, and an issue of æ岹ܲ on improving teaching. The key idea emerging from this body of work is that what was once a challenge of quantity in American undergraduate education, of enrolling as many students as possible, is increasingly a challenge of educational quality – of making sure that all students receive the education they need to succeed, that they are able to complete the studies they begin, and that they can do all this affordably. The Commission engaged in a range of outreach activities to make its work as widely read as possible and to advance its recommendations around quality, completion, and affordability.
COMMISSION CHAIRS
Roger Ferguson, Jr.
TIAA
Michael McPherson
formerly, Spencer Foundation
COMMISSION MEMBERS
Joseph E. Aoun
Northeastern University
Deborah Loewenberg Ball
University of Michigan
Sandy Baum
Urban Institute
Rebecca M. Blank
University of Wisconsin-Madison
John Seely Brown
formerly, Xerox PARC Research
Wesley G. Bush
Northrop Grumman
Carl A. Cohn
formerly, Claremont Graduate University
Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr.
Purdue University
John J. DeGioia
Georgetown University
Jonathan F. Fanton
President Emeritus, American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences
Robert Hormats
Kissinger Associates; formerly, U.S. Department of State
Freeman A. Hrabowski III
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Jennifer L. Jennings
New York University
Jeremy Johnson
Andela
Sherry Lansing
Sherry Lansing Foundation
Nicholas Lemann
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
J. Michael Locke
formerly, Rasmussen, Inc.
Monica Lozano
College Futures Foundation
Gail O. Mellow
LaGuardia Community College
Diana Natalicio
formerly, University of Texas at El Paso
Hilary Pennington
Ford Foundation
Beverly Daniel Tatum
Spelman College
Shirley M. Tilghman
Princeton University
Michelle Weise
Strada Education Network
DATA ADVISORY GROUP MEMBERS
Thomas Bailey
Teachers College, Columbia University
Sandy Baum
Urban Institute
Ronald G. Ehrenberg
Cornell University
Bridget Terry Long
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Judith Scott-Clayton
Teachers College, Columbia University
Project Staff
Francesca Purcell
Beth Niegelsky
Funders
Carnegie Corporation of New York
TIAA Institute
Project Publications
A Primer on the College Student Journey (American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, 2016)
Undergraduate Financial Aid in the United States, Judith Scott-Clayton (American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, 2017)
The Complex Universe of Alternative Postsecondary Credentials and Pathways, Jessie Brown and Martin Kurzweil, Ithaka S+R (American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, 2017)
The Economic Impact of Increasing College Completion, Sophia Koropeckyj, Chris Lafakis, and Adam Ozimek, Moody’s Analytics; Foreword by Michael S. McPherson (American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, 2017)
Policies and Practices to Support Undergraduate Teaching Improvement, Aaron Pallas, Anna Neumann, and Corbin Campbell (American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, 2017)
The Future of Undergraduate Education, The Future of America (American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, 2017)
“Improving Teaching: Strengthening the College Learning Experience,” æ岹ܲ, edited by Sandy Baum & Michael S. McPherson (2019)
Project Videos
Cornell’s Active Learning Initiative video — National Priority: Quality
Florida State University’s Graduation Rates video – National Priority: Completion
Cincinnati State’s Accelerate Program video – National Priority: Affordability
Project Meeting
Young Adult Mental Health and Well-Being: Higher Education’s Responsibility
September 5–6, 2019
House of the Ƶ
Cambridge, MA
On the campuses of residential colleges and universities, young adults (eighteen to twenty-five years old) are experiencing an intensifying crisis of their mental health and well-being. Students have increasing levels of depression and anxiety, which interfere with and may interrupt both their academic and developmental progress.
In many instances, higher education institutions have responded by expanding mental health services and resources that focus on the individual student’s needs. However, the availability and provision of clinical care do not appear to be mitigating the crisis. Perhaps a pivot to a systemic intra- and inter-institutional response is required. Both mental health leaders and university presidents may need to consider addressing issues of academic climate and culture, both on campuses and as promoted by the higher education institutions collectively.
In this gathering of university presidents and mental health leaders, several critical issues were considered: the role of higher education in the development of young adults; what students are telling us about their mental health during college and graduate education; how the current research on young adult development and well-being can frame our thinking; and how colleges and universities can engage with other institutions and entities to jointly foster the mental health of young adults. The goals of this meeting were to explore the roles colleges and universities have in creating campus cultures that foster student mental health and well-being; to deepen understanding of how recent research can inform this work; and to identify pathways forward.
MEETING CHAIRS
John J. DeGioia
Georgetown University
David Oxtoby
American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences
PANELISTS
Daniel Eisenburg
University of Michigan; Healthy Minds Network
Wayne Frederick
Howard University
Elizabeth Gong-Guy
UCLA Campus and Student Resilience
Laura Horne
Active Minds
Paula Johnson
Wellesley College
Sarah K. Lipson
Boston University School of Public Health
Jacqueline Looney
Duke University
Vikram Patel
Harvard Medical School
Stephanie Pinder-Amaker
McLean Hospital College Mental Health Program
Zoe Ragouzeos
NYU Student Mental Health
Julie Reuben
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Chad Wellmon
University of Virginia
MODERATORS
Paul Barreira
Harvard Medical School
Wendy Fischman
Harvard University
Suzy Nelson
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Stephanie Bell Rose
TIAA Institute
