Letter from the Dean

I have spent the last year and a half in deep conversation with our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners, developing a strategic vision—not just to shape the future of Penn GSE, but to imagine the future of education itself. This issue of the magazine celebrates that vision, and I’m excited to share it with you. As you explore our priorities, I invite you to reflect: Where do you see yourself in them, and how does your work advance our shared vision?

Penn GSE has always been more than the sum of its parts—more than its 39 programs, 319 faculty and staff members, 1,672 students, and 20,000-plus alumni. We are a place where teachers, leaders, scholars, and educational changemakers hone and leverage their expertise to realize transformational change in education and, by doing so, uplift communities worldwide. We are calling our new strategic vision Together for Good because it reflects not only our collective commitment to impact, but the reality that it will take all of us—across roles, professions, and borders—to make it happen.

Our dreams are bold, and the challenges ahead are real. In this moment of both great promise and peril in education, we need everyone—all of you reading this—to help us shape the educational future we have envisioned. As you, our alumni and supporters, lead, teach, research, counsel, plan, and innovate in virtually every sector and across 90 countries, you bring Penn GSE’s vision to life—advancing our mission, shaping education, and creating real change every day. I am eager to harness your expertise and urge you to collaborate with us: mentor students, partner with programs, speak on campus, visit classes, attend events. There are countless ways to connect your work with ours as we strive toward our shared goals.

I hope you’ll read the cover story on page 11 and consider how your work aligns with our plans. Then reach out with your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions—either by emailing us at together@gse.upenn.edu or via the form at www.gse.upenn.edu/together. I’ll also be traveling on a dean’s tour to share Together for Good with the broader Penn community, and I hope you’ll join me at an event near you to continue the conversation.

Individually, we are many. But together, we are One Penn GSE. We can do great things. And with this new strategic vision to guide us, I know we will.

All best,