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News Briefs

McGraw Center Symposium Encourages Education Leaders to Embrace Politics

The path of an education leader today is fraught with political potholes—but a leader’s best strategy for avoiding those potential dangers is to embrace politics. That was the theme of the Leading the Way Symposium, held by the McGraw Center for Educational Leadership on February 29.
Cheryl Logan headshot
Cheryl Logan, GRD’17
Photo credit: Joe McFetridge
Political issues dominate news coverage of education, and the career longevity of education leaders—especially school district superintendents—is dwindling, said Cheryl Logan, GRD’17, founding executive director of the Center and former superintendent of the Omaha Public Schools.

“It’s the politics that takes people out, and a lot of that is self-inflicted,” Logan said. “Our intent with this symposium is to give education leaders the tools to navigate the political challenges better and, ultimately, improve the education experience for students.”

For the symposium, she identified nine skills for strategic political leadership to help attendees traverse the challenges of the hyper-political landscape in education:

  1. Know your organization’s political history and leverage it strategically.
  2. Enhance your team’s political leadership skills.
  3. Know when to decline an idea, project, initiative, or even a job.
  4. Identify your allies and empower them effectively.
  5. Stay focused on your “North Star” and minimize distractions.
  6. Work closely with naysayers and get comfortable with opposing views.
  7. Build political capital both inside and outside your organization.
  8. Avoid unnecessary conflicts and don’t pick a fight with a porcupine.
  9. Engage in effective communication management.

“I am keenly aware that, in my position, politics are always at play,” said Mwenyewe Dawan, assistant superintendent of the Wissahickon School District, who attended the symposium. “It’s important to know how to navigate politics and sharpen our skills as leaders.”

For Reginald Nash, assistant director for state advocacy and engagement for the Education Trust in Washington, DC, the most appealing aspect of the symposium was the opportunity to interact with and learn from experts.

“Being able to figure out who are the people who align with you and those who look at things differently is important,” Nash said. “Being a student of people is the biggest takeaway for me, especially in these polarizing political times.”

Dean Visits China

Dean Katharine O Strunk speaking at a podium with a microphone in her hand
As part of a weeklong visit to China in January, Dean Katharine Strunk traveled to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, meeting some of the 1,300-plus Penn GSE alumni who live there and exploring ways to expand the School’s global partnerships and foster meaningful connections for the Penn GSE community.
group photo of Sunny Wang, Dean Katharine Strunk, and Hang Qin with West Lake in Hangzhou in the background
(From left) Sunny Wang, GED’20, Dean Katharine Strunk, and Hang Qin, GED’18, in front of West Lake in Hangzhou
During her trip, Dean Strunk toured schools, participated in alumni events, met with ed tech leaders, and attended the Penn Global Forum, where she spoke on a deans panel and introduced US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns for a talk on the importance of US-China educational partnerships and academic exchange.

“I was honored to meet with our many partners and spend time with our accomplished alumni in China,” said Dean Strunk. “Our students and faculty research, teach, and study all across the globe, and having a front-row seat to our international educational exchange in China was incredibly meaningful.”

McGraw Center Symposium Encourages Education Leaders to Embrace Politics

The path of an education leader today is fraught with political potholes—but a leader’s best strategy for avoiding those potential dangers is to embrace politics. That was the theme of the Leading the Way Symposium, held by the McGraw Center for Educational Leadership on February 29.
Cheryl Logan headshot
Cheryl Logan, GRD’17
Photo credit: Joe McFetridge
Political issues dominate news coverage of education, and the career longevity of education leaders—especially school district superintendents—is dwindling, said Cheryl Logan, GRD’17, founding executive director of the Center and former superintendent of the Omaha Public Schools.

“It’s the politics that takes people out, and a lot of that is self-inflicted,” Logan said. “Our intent with this symposium is to give education leaders the tools to navigate the political challenges better and, ultimately, improve the education experience for students.”

For the symposium, she identified nine skills for strategic political leadership to help attendees traverse the challenges of the hyper-political landscape in education:

  1. Know your organization’s political history and leverage it strategically.
  2. Enhance your team’s political leadership skills.
  3. Know when to decline an idea, project, initiative, or even a job.
  4. Identify your allies and empower them effectively.
  5. Stay focused on your “North Star” and minimize distractions.
  6. Work closely with naysayers and get comfortable with opposing views.
  7. Build political capital both inside and outside your organization.
  8. Avoid unnecessary conflicts and don’t pick a fight with a porcupine.
  9. Engage in effective communication management.

“I am keenly aware that, in my position, politics are always at play,” said Mwenyewe Dawan, assistant superintendent of the Wissahickon School District, who attended the symposium. “It’s important to know how to navigate politics and sharpen our skills as leaders.”

For Reginald Nash, assistant director for state advocacy and engagement for the Education Trust in Washington, DC, the most appealing aspect of the symposium was the opportunity to interact with and learn from experts.

“Being able to figure out who are the people who align with you and those who look at things differently is important,” Nash said. “Being a student of people is the biggest takeaway for me, especially in these polarizing political times.”

Dean Visits China

Dean Katharine O Strunk speaking at a podium with a microphone in her hand
As part of a weeklong visit to China in January, Dean Katharine Strunk traveled to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, meeting some of the 1,300-plus Penn GSE alumni who live there and exploring ways to expand the School’s global partnerships and foster meaningful connections for the Penn GSE community.
group photo of Sunny Wang, Dean Katharine Strunk, and Hang Qin with West Lake in Hangzhou in the background
(From left) Sunny Wang, GED’20, Dean Katharine Strunk, and Hang Qin, GED’18, in front of West Lake in Hangzhou
During her trip, Dean Strunk toured schools, participated in alumni events, met with ed tech leaders, and attended the Penn Global Forum, where she spoke on a deans panel and introduced US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns for a talk on the importance of US-China educational partnerships and academic exchange.

“I was honored to meet with our many partners and spend time with our accomplished alumni in China,” said Dean Strunk. “Our students and faculty research, teach, and study all across the globe, and having a front-row seat to our international educational exchange in China was incredibly meaningful.”

Penn GSE Jackdaws Run Wharton 5K

Professor Betsy Rymes and Classroom Technology Manager Charles Washington taking a photo with their 12th Annual Wharton 5K team
Professor Betsy Rymes and Classroom Technology Manager Charles Washington put together a team of Penn GSE staff, faculty, students, and their family members for the 12th Annual Wharton 5K to benefit Philabundance and the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia. They named their 10-person team the Jackdaws because, according to BBC Wildlife Magazine, those small crows “are highly intelligent and social, and easily pick up tricks and new skills in the wild as well as in captivity.”

“Charles and I both started working at GSE 17 years ago, and have swapped running stories for years,” said Rymes. “We also both know there are many running enthusiasts among the GSE community, so we thought we’d form a GSE 5K team this year to spread some good running vibes, support a great cause, and bring together GSE faculty, staff, and students to do something fun and low-key together. The 5K also offers a perfect mental health break during one of busiest times of the year. We’re looking forward to bringing more people out in 2025. Go Jackdaws!”

New Building Earns LEED Gold Certification

The Penn GSE building expansion and renovation that was unveiled in August 2023 was recently awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for its sustainable design and operation. The project—the School’s first new construction in 50 years—connected the adjacent GSE building and Stiteler Hall while adding 16,200 square feet of new space.
Front view of new Penn GSE building
New Penn GSE building at 37th and Walnut Streets
Photo credit: Greg Benson
Those additions are energy- and water-efficient. Green roofs on the lobby and courtyard additions aid with cooling, carbon dioxide absorption, and stormwater management. The mechanical system design recovers heat within the building, and the external terra cotta and aluminum shading elements reduce the need for cooling. The building was able to reduce its interior lighting energy use by 47 percent and its exterior lighting energy use by 52 percent. All of this combines to help the new building achieve a 40 percent annual energy-use savings.

“Sustainability was at the core of this project,” said Philip Chen, president of Annum Architects, “which transformed a 60-year-old site and buildings into a modern and vibrant home for the GSE, nourishing the community and serving their needs now and long into the future.”

The building’s design and construction were supported with a capital fundraising campaign that generated gifts from almost 100 donors across Penn’s community of alumni and friends.

“The new building is a culmination of a vision that had been years in the making—a symbol of progress, innovation, and community spirit,” said Penn GSE Dean Katharine Strunk. “That progress includes demonstrating our commitment to Penn’s Climate and Sustainability Action Plan, which moves the campus closer to becoming 100 percent carbon neutral by 2042.”

West Philly Collaborative History Project Chronicles a Community’s Past

John Puckett headshot
John Puckett
Photo credit: HKB Photo
The West Philadelphia Collaborative History Project (WPCH) is a labor of love for John Puckett, a historian, emeritus professor at Penn GSE, and longtime West Philadelphia resident. Launched in 2018, the website is a repository for West Philly stories vividly illustrated with photographs and maps.

Those stories span the high school athletic field that hosted the 1934 championship series of the National Negro League, Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, MOVE, Philadelphia General Hospital, the fates of the Black Bottom neighborhood and University City High School, and much more.

As project director, Puckett oversees the website, contributes articles, and works closely with collaborators, including West Philadelphia residents and local graduate students.

“Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships uses it as a foundational text for academically based community service courses,” said Puckett, who also co-wrote Becoming Penn, a history of the University’s post-World War II expansion in West Philadelphia. He worked with Penn Medicine students to adapt some of the project’s images and stories for a smartphone walking tour that is part of the School’s orientation for first-year medical students. And he is working on new research that will be added to the WPCH in the coming year.

“I am working with colleagues at the Netter Center and the Weitzman School of Design on a demographic survey of West Philadelphia’s social and economic conditions over the past 60 years,” he said. The goal is to create interactive maps and graphs that show changes to West Philadelphia neighborhoods over time. Learn more: collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu.

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