By 2012, two years after Yale’s Teacher Prep Program and Urban Teaching Initiative were closed, the future of Education Studies was uncertain. But, 8 undergraduates, including Grace Lindsey ‘15 and Sophia Weissmann ’14, were determined to make sure Yale students could continue taking classes in Education Studies. They created campaign Save the Ed, collected over 100 student and alumni signatures in support of Ed Studies, and presented it to the incoming President Peter Salovey.
Dr. Kristi Lockhart, who recently retired as a Yale lecturer in Education Studies and Psychology, was part of a committee that formed to develop a new Education Studies program.
She remembers, “the students were the people who campaigned or rallied so that this program could continue. I think if it had been up to professors, it never would have continued.”
At last, in July 2013, Yale assured students Education Studies would be turned into one of the newly developing Multidisciplinary Academic programs alongside Energy Studies, Human Rights and Global Health. An advisory committee formed, creating a proposal for the University that described what this would entail. The program would teach students contexts and frameworks that underpin education, culminating in a capstone project.
“We wanted it to complement students’ majors,” Dr Lockhart says. “We developed a proposal… presented to [Dean] Mary Miller and [Deputy Dean] Joe Gordon, and they said ‘Great, we’ll support this.’”
After a search helmed by Dr. Lockhart (assisted by Claudia Merson and other faculty and students), Dr Elizabeth Carroll was appointed program director. Under her leadership and with courses developed by Yale professors and professional faculty including Carla Horwitz, Nancy Close, Richard Hersh, Richard Lemons, William Garfinkel, Janna Wagner, and Jessica Sager, Education Studies Scholars became a popular program. Today, the program is thriving, with two certificate offerings and more than 180 enrolled undergraduates.
As the Education Studies community continues to expand, many thanks to Dr. Lockhart and colleagues for their pivotal work in the creation and success of Education Studies, and for sharing its history with us.