Latest Announcements

Cynthia D'Angelo, associate professor Educational Psychology, was recently awarded a $1.2 million NSF grant to study learning challenges surrounding Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) and the complicated STEM concepts that people with the disease must manage.

The study is titled Understanding and Addressing the Complex STEM Learning Challenges of Adults with Type 1 Diabetes. It runs through July of 2029.

Type-1 diabetics must absorb a lot of information and balance it with many variables to manage their disease, especially during physical activity. D'Angelo aims to utilize technology to learn more about what information those with T1D must know, develop online STEM learning materials, and create a digital learning platform to practice these newly learned skills.

Michele Schutz, assistant professor Special Education, will speak at the Bloorview Research Institute Global Guest Speaker Series at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.

Her presentation, “Collaborative, Community-Engaged, and Cross-System Transitions to Work for Youth with Disabilities,” will take place virtually on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, from 10 to 11 a.m. The free monthly series highlights international leaders advancing childhood disability research, rehabilitation, and inclusion.

Find out more and register here: http://bit.ly/46fAGx5

Education Policy Organization and Leadership will host a book talk and career celebration for Charles Hardie professor emeritus Walter Feinberg on Wednesday, October 15, from 1 to 3 p.m. in 22 Education.

The talk will include discussions of two of Feinberg's books: Educating for Democracy (2023) and Walter Feinberg’s Democratic Vision: Classic Writings on Public Education (2025), as well as a Q&A. Guest speakers will include James D. Anderson, Bryan Warnick of Ohio State University, Kevin McDonough of McGill University, and Kanako Ide of Soka University.

Please RSVP to attend by Friday, October 10th.

Sammer Jones, Ph.D. '16 EPOL, director of Global Relations at Illinois, was named a recipient of the 2025 Chancellor's Staff Excellence Award.

Dr. Jones plays a key role in strengthening Illinois' global presence. She manages strategic partnerships, oversees international agreements, and helps coordinate collaborations across academic, research, and administrative sectors. Her leadership has been central to initiatives such as the Global Staff Exchange, which extends international learning opportunities to staff in addition to faculty and students.

The Chancellor’s Staff Excellence Award (CSEA) recognizes the outstanding work of all university staff members who perform a wide range of critical functions for our university. Staff provide critical administrative support, support our research laboratories and education programs, serve our students, and offer important outreach programs throughout the state and beyond.

Each winner of the CSEA award will be honored at a reception hosted by the Chancellor, receive $1,500 (after taxes), and receive a commemorative award. They will also be featured virtually in a podcast or video through the University of Illinois and spotlighted by the News Bureau.

Cecilia Vaughn-Guy is a co-author of a dialogic article reviewing the American Evaluation Association (AEA) and Washington Evaluator's panel entitled: The Evolution of Evaluation: Meeting the Moment.  

Gabriel Rodriguez, of EPOL, published the article in AERA Open.

Asif Wilson, assistant professor, and Salka Aslam, Ph.D. student, both of Curriculum & Instruction, have published a paper analyzing the status of Social Studies curriculum in Illinois.

The paper, published on Wilson's Social Studies Network website, examines K-12 Social Studies teachers in Illinois' perceptions, preparedness, and challenges related to inquiry-based and inclusive teaching and learning practice in K-12 Social Studies. The paper looked at data collected over four years.

While most educators felt prepared to facilitate student inquiry, only 26% of teachers felt they were meeting the social studies standards guiding instruction in Illinois.

Read the full paper here.

Logan Pender, Education Policy Organization & Leadership Ed.M. student, has been selected as a youth delegate representing the DMUN Foundation at the United Nations 2025 Social Forum of the UN Human Rights Council.

The forum will take place at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, October 30-31.

As a delegate, Pender will participate in the Social Forum's official sessions, represent DMUN and amplify youth voices in high-level discussions, and gain access to civil society coordination spaces, side events, and networking opportunities with human rights leaders.

The DMUN Foundation is a youth-led, non-profit, non-governmental organization that empowers young people to be active and valid stakeholders in global policy and discourse.

Prospective families are invited to our Community Open House from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Oct. 7th , for the preschool classroom or 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for the kindergarten through 5th grade classrooms. You many come any time during these hours for a short visit at the school. For more information or to schedule a visit on a different date, please visit the school's website.

The Education Justice Project accepts applications until November 15 from individuals who wish to teach for-credit courses at Danville Correctional Center in 2026-7 or participate in our extracurricular and support programming at the prison. Prospective instructors must have the same qualifications they would need to teach a given course on campus. As we primarily offer upper-division courses, that is typically at least ABD status. 

Learn more at our upcoming info sessions. The next is Wednesday, October 8, from 12 to 1 via Zoom. 

Visit our website to learn more and access application forms: https://educationjustice.net/work-with-ejp/

The Oct. 30 Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Learning Summit at the I Hotel and Illinois Conference Center will offer a space to create, collaborate, discuss, and assess practices that transform classrooms and leadership across Illinois. Spend the day engaging in interactive sessions, networking with peers, and discovering ready-to-use strategies that will support your work as an educator and/or leader. 

These eight faculty members have demonstrated excellent research ability, scholarship, and leadership.

Bunch was recognized for her outstanding work of scholarship or research in language, literature, rhetoric, or pedagogy and learning.

The Educational Psychology assistant professor co-writes on discrimination and sleep among Asian American college students.

Haeryun Kim's paper focuses on high school enrollment in computer science classes.

The Roundtable will be held September 25 at 2 p.m. virtually.

Danish will present "Designing for Iterative Sequences of Embodied Learning Activities" on September 18.

Cherie Avent was named the winner of the Marcia Guttentag Promising New Evaluator Award.

Melissa Goodnight co-edited the book, a second in a series, on combining ethnography and evaluation to make transformative changes in educational programs.

53 instructors were rated Excellent, while 33 were given the highest Outstanding ratings