Professional Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education

Last week, 65 higher education leaders from 61 institutions across the country and around the world joined us on campus for the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education (MLE). Together, we grappled with one of the sector’s greatest challenges: leading through change.

Under the guidance of Educational Chairs Francesca Purcell and Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar, participants examined mission and culture, sharpened their strategic thinking, and explored how to better align their leadership goals with what their institutions can deliver.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3M2xRWu

Dog days of summer at Harvard 🐶

We're proud to celebrate Liya Escalera, Lecturer on Education at HGSE and faculty chair of our Management Development Program (MDP), on receiving the 2026 Morningstar Family Teaching Award.

Chosen by Harvard Graduate School of Education students for her outstanding teaching, advising, and mentorship, Escalera is known for creating inclusive, welcoming learning spaces, bringing deep knowledge of higher ed challenges, and helping students rediscover the joy of learning.

One student nominator put it beautifully: "As a student who has had their share of academic burnout and anxiety over the years, Dr. Escalera has been able to help me find joy and wonder in learning as a student again."

It's a sentiment Escalera herself carries into the classroom: "Despite the challenges facing higher education, I am so appreciative of the opportunity to engage in critical hope and the joy of learning in community with my students."

She brings that same energy and expertise to MDP, our five-day, on-campus program for early-career higher ed leaders. If you're a new or emerging dean, chair, director, or manager in higher ed, MDP was designed for you.

🔗 Learn more about MDP: https://bit.ly/4o37cuQ
📖 Read the full story: https://bit.ly/3RMoyQy

Last week, we officially kicked off School Turnaround Leaders: our first in-person PreK–12 program of the summer.

89 educators from 14 states and four countries, spanning classroom teachers to district leaders, joined Faculty Chair Katherine Merseth to explore Ronald Heifetz’s adaptive leadership framework, clarify the purpose of schooling, and begin crafting conditions for rapid and sustained change in their schools.

Together, they’re building turnaround plans, generating buy-in, and working to accelerate student achievement in the communities they serve.

Learn more about STL: https://bit.ly/3BVmjmr

At the 2026 Association for Institutional Research (AIR) Forum in Washington, D.C., our program chair, Drew Allen, joined colleagues from Georgetown and Harvard for a standout session on building the next generation of institutional research analytics environments.

The panel explored how IR offices are leveraging Posit Connect to create secure, scalable, and reproducible code-first analytics pipelines and what it really takes to lead that transformation from the inside out:
→ Launching and scaling modern analytics platforms
→ Building strong data governance and secure access frameworks
→ Bridging the gap between IR and IT through collaboration
→ Upskilling teams in R and code-based workflows
→ Navigating the human side of digital transformation

These are exactly the challenges and opportunities at the heart of our program, Institutional Research and Data Leadership in Higher Education, which Allen chairs.

If you're an IR, analytics, or assessment leader looking to sharpen your skills, build your network, and lead your institution's data culture with confidence, applications are open through September 28.

📅 On campus November 2–6, 2026
🔗 Learn more and apply: https://bit.ly/437X7mU

Two weeks after completing Women in Higher Education Leadership at HGSE, Meghan Cosier was already leading differently.

As Professor and Executive Director at Chapman University, where she oversees the Thompson Policy Institute on Disability, Cosier came to this program already managing complex, cross-disciplinary teams. She left with something intentional: a new framework for how she shows up.

"I have been more intentional about leadership range and shifting styles based on context rather than relying on habit." That shift, sparked by Faculty Chair Deborah Jewell-Sherman's sessions on leadership flexibility, is changing how Cosier leads.

She also found her own developing leadership identity reflected in the work of Elsa Núñez, whose commitment to authenticity and to centering students and community resonated deeply.

Now, Cosier is bringing these tools back to Chapman, where her team works alongside people with disabilities, teachers, administrators, policymakers, and families toward a world where all people in the disability community thrive.

That's what this program is designed to do: meet leaders where they are and send them back sharper, more intentional, and more equipped to create change. Learn more about Women in Higher Education Leadership: https://bit.ly/4exfExm

Our Family Engagement in Education program (FAM) had a major presence at the Institute for Educational Leadership National Community Schools & Family Engagement Conference in Long Beach, CA, one of the field’s largest gatherings with more than 4,000 attendees.

FAM faculty chair Karen Mapp led a plenary panel and co-facilitated a workshop with FAM Coach and Faculty Eyal Bergman, sharing findings from a new study with a clear message: strong family engagement practices are directly linked to better student outcomes. Coaches Carla Hampstead and Jenni Brasington also led workshops, and we were thrilled to reconnect with alumni at the Network Reception.

Too often, family engagement is treated as “nice to have.” This research makes the case for embedding it across the entire school ecosystem.

If this work resonates with you, join us on campus to learn alongside educators and leaders committed to building meaningful, lasting family-school partnerships.

🔗 Learn more about FAM: https://gse.harvard.edu/ppe/fam

📄 Read the study:https://bealearninghero.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/LH-26_Family-Engagement-Study_FULL-REPORT_V7.pdf

Throwback photos from past Data Wise institutes. Can you believe it's been 20 years? See you again this July!

You still have time to join us. Apply by June 17: https://bit.ly/4nnYN51

Happy June 🌈 New week, new month, new season. ☀️