UChicago News

Educator Charles Abelmann named director of UChicago Laboratory Schools

Mon, 05 Jun 2017 10:50 -0500

Charles Abelmann, an educator who has led highly regarded independent and public schools and worked on international education at the World Bank, has been appointed director of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools.

Since 2010, Abelmann has served as head of school at Barrie School in Silver Spring, Md., an independent school for students 18 months through grade 12. He has strengthened academic programs at Barrie, in part by ensuring coordination among divisions and promoting pedagogical innovation. He developed a teaching fellow and intern program, and formed partnerships that attracted guest artists and visiting teachers from other countries. Under his leadership, the school became a convener on important topics in education, and formed local and global partnerships that provided new opportunities for students and faculty to build community and support social responsibility.

Prior to his leadership of Barrie, Abelmann served in a variety of roles for the World Bank, including overseeing its investments in education programs in Indonesia, China and Mongolia. He conducted policy analysis and aided in capacity building with ministries of education and local governments across East Asia and other countries including Latvia, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Guatemala and Colombia. Earlier in his career he served as principal of Janney Elementary School, which is part of the Washington, D.C public schools, and was special assistant to the superintendent of the D.C. public schools.

“The Laboratory Schools have a legacy of outstanding and innovative education, and Charlie will provide the strong academic leadership needed to continue and enhance that tradition,” said President Robert J. Zimmer. “He is also committed to fostering vibrant connections between Lab and the rest of the University, which will bring multiple benefits to our community.”

Abelmann, whose appointment is effective July 1, holds a bachelor’s degree in English and religion from Duke University and a master’s degree and doctorate in administration, planning and social policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has two sons, Tobias and Emilio.

“We have been greatly impressed by Charlie’s passion for education, his breadth of experience and his enthusiasm for collaborating across the Lab community to advance teaching, learning and the development of students,” said David Fithian, executive vice president of the University, who has oversight responsibility for Lab and its director.

As Laboratory Schools director, Abelmann will oversee the nursery school, kindergarten, primary school, lower school, middle school and high school, stewarding their distinctive cultures, supporting their faculties, and encouraging creativity, innovation and ambition. He will be responsible for developing the human and financial resources the Schools need to continue to excel, promoting a community that engages alumni, families, the University and the city of Chicago.

Abelmann said that during his visits to Lab he has been impressed by the confidence of the students, the integration of the arts into school life and the strong sense of community.

“I am excited to join a school with such a rich history and deep connections to the University, and to help chart the path forward to continue a tradition of excellence and innovation,” Abelmann said. “I grew up around university life, and I am eager to be part of a community that is so engaged in the education of children and youth, and that places a high value on questioning and collaboration.”

“Our search committee was unanimous in its enthusiasm for Charlie’s candidacy,” said David Kistenbroker, chair of the Laboratory Schools Board. “His style of leadership is characterized by excellent analytical skills, compassion and a strong vision for education. He has shown an affinity for collaborative work with boards, parents, teachers, staff and students. We look forward to welcoming him to our community.”

American philosopher and educator John Dewey founded the Laboratory Schools in 1896 to test and demonstrate his educational theories. Since then, Lab has continued to be an integral part of the University of Chicago, now serving more than 2,000 students from nursery school through 12th grade.

Abelmann succeeds Beth A. Harris, who has served as interim director since 2016. In a message to the Lab community announcing the appointment, Fithian and Kistenbroker thanked Harris for her work over the last year. Harris served on the Laboratory Schools Board from 2002 though 2015 and was the University vice president and general counsel for 13 years.

Bridget Le Loup Collier appointed interim associate provost, overseeing Title IX compliance

Thu, 19 Jan 2017 16:05 -0600

Bridget Le Loup Collier has been appointed to serve as interim associate provost and director of the Office for Equal Opportunity Programs, with duties including oversight of Title IX compliance.

Collier will take on the new position on Jan. 24, when current Title IX Coordinator Sarah Wake will depart for a new role as associate general counsel at Northwestern University.

As dean of students and senior director of student engagement at the Graham School for Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies, Collier has overseen the support of diverse student enrollments and enhanced the experience of students through coordination of support services and staff development. Her duties included ensuring the school’s compliance with state and federal requirements including Title IX and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Provost Daniel Diermeier said Collier will provide leadership on issues of sexual misconduct and equal opportunity as the University begins a national search for a permanent associate provost.

“In recent years the University has made important strides in advancing our ongoing commitment to addressing issues related to sexual misconduct,” Diermeier said. “Bridget brings over 16 years of higher education administrative experience in program improvement, crisis response and student development. I am grateful that she has agreed to help continue our progress on these issues.”

Before joining UChicago in May of 2015, Collier served as chief of staff to the president and Title IX coordinator at Roosevelt University, managing compliance at an institution with more than 5,000 students. She is the founder and chair of the Chicagoland Title IX Consortium, an organization of 35 higher education institutions that seeks to enhance knowledge, understanding and application of Title IX policies and resources to advance gender parity and reduce sexual misconduct.

“The purpose of this role is to uphold the University’s standards of excellence so all members of our community can reach their full potential in an environment free of discrimination, sexual misconduct or harassment,” Collier said. “Sarah Wake has brought people together around these issues in a community-driven way, and I will strive to continue that effective approach.”

Collier holds a master’s of education in counseling and student affairs from Northern Arizona University and a doctorate in education and higher education administration from the University of Southern California. In her interim role, she has responsibility for coordinating University-wide compliance with UChicago’s Policy on Harassment, Discrimination, and Sexual Misconduct, with oversight of investigations performed under that policy, including Title IX investigations. She also will oversee the University’s compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and will serve as equal opportunity coordinator and affirmative action officer, coordinating outreach to veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Diermeier thanked Wake for her leadership as Title IX coordinator, noting that she was “instrumental in strengthening University policy and leading a number of compliance improvements.” Among many advances during her tenure, the office has formed a student advisory board for sexual misconduct and has worked closely with advocacy groups and other stakeholders. Under Wake’s guidance the office also implemented mandatory sexual misconduct training for the entire UChicago community.

Jay Ellison appointed Dean of Students in the College

Tue, 22 Apr 2014 17:50 -0500

John “Jay” Ellison, associate dean and secretary of the Administrative Board at Harvard College, has been appointed Dean of Students in the College at the University of Chicago. John W. Boyer, Dean of the College, announced that Ellison’s appointment will begin at the conclusion of the 2013-14 academic year, upon the retirement of Susan Art, who has served as Dean of Students in the College for 13 years.

“Jay’s dedication to the academic and personal welfare of students, and his deep understanding of the importance of the liberal arts at the center of a major research university make him a wonderful new member of the College’s senior leadership,” Boyer said.

Ellison brings exceptionally broad experience with issues concerning curriculum, student residential life, crisis intervention and recovery, health services, and academic progress. He is also a scholar of Near Eastern languages and civilizations, having earned his doctorate at Harvard with a specialty in ancient languages and extensive field experience in Syria.

“I am excited about the opportunity to join this community during a time of growth and outreach, and to work with John Boyer and the wonderful students, faculty and staff, at the University of Chicago,” Ellison said.

Ellison’s appointment followed a national search; Dennis Hutchinson, Master of the New Collegiate Division and Deputy Dean of the College, chaired a faculty and staff search committee for the position. Groups of stakeholders from across campus, including students and student life staff, met with the candidates and shared their recommendations for the new dean.

In announcing the appointment, Boyer thanked Susan Art, who informed Boyer last fall of her intention to retire at the end of the current academic year. Boyer said Art brought wisdom and imagination to her work with students in the College, noting that her efforts to professionalize the advising system, work across units in the university, and offer tutoring and mentoring support for undergraduates have been crucial to the College’s academic and social environment.

“The College has a comprehensive advising system for undergraduate students that is the envy of our peer institutions and that is in large measure due to Susan’s gifts as a leader,” he said. “Her vision in the complex field of student affairs has been extraordinary and gives her successor a robust and healthy legacy.”

Gift to Career Advancement program benefits students interested in education professions

Tue, 28 Jan 2014 11:29 -0600

University trustee Charles Ashby Lewis and Penny Bender Sebring have endowed UChicago Careers in Education Professions with a named directorship, investing in students who pursue careers in education.

“Chuck and Penny are deeply committed to improving teachers, classrooms and schools, and have long advocated for the inclusion of these professional tracks in our Career Advancement programming,” said John W. Boyer, dean of the College at a reception announcing the creation of the Lewis-Sebring Director for the education professions program. “We are grateful for their leadership and their support,” he said.

UChicago Careers in Education Professions began in 2012 as a program within Career Advancement for students in the College, graduate students and alumni. Nahida Teliani leads the popular program, now as the Lewis-Sebring Director.

“I am humbled that my job title now bears the names of two people I hold in the highest regard,” Teliani said, thanking the couple for their guidance and direction as the education professions program has taken off. It helps students prepare for careers in teaching, administration, research and policy, and currently it serves hundreds of students across all academic disciplines.

In the program’s first year, Teliani has matched students with internships in places as varied as the U.S. Department of Education and the Boys and Girls Club of San Francisco. She has arranged treks across the city of Chicago and around the country to education policy centers, schools and research centers. She has advised hundreds of students on their career paths. And she has seen the first year of program graduates begin careers in education.

“We are continually cultivating an environment where the future educational leaders of America can thrive,” Teliani said.

The Lewis-Sebring Family Foundation has been dedicated to many aspects of education reform, policy, research and training. Penny Sebring is a senior research associate at the University of Chicago and founding co-director of the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Public Education Fund and is a member of the Visiting Committee to the Division of Social Sciences.

In addition to his role as a University Trustee, Charles Lewis is highly involved with the University’s Urban Education Institute and is a member of the Governing Board of the University’s Charter School. He is a member of the visiting committees to the Division of the Social Sciences and to the College.

Beyond supporting and advising the Careers in Education Professions program, the couple contributes to the University’s Metcalf internship program to allow students to pursue substantive internships.

Fourth-year John Lim worked as an intern at the New York City Department of Education through the Metcalf internship program during the summer of 2013, and said his exposure to real-world education policy and experts was vital to his preparation for a career in education. “This has truly been a transformative experience for me,” Lim said.

In another sign of the early successes of the program, 30 percent of graduating seniors had lined up job placements by the end of Fall Quarter. Lim is among them and will start his career with two years of classroom experience with Teach for America.

Weingartner to take on new role after 22 years as athletics director

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:58 -0500

After 22 years as Chairman of the Department of Physical Education and Athletics and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Tom Weingartner announced that he will be taking on a new role at the University.

Weingartner’s newly created position will allow him to focus full-time on creating a program of fundraising and alumni engagement for athletics, effective July 15. He will report to Karen Warren Coleman, Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services, and work closely with development staff at the University.

“I recently passed a couple of milestones—I turned 65 a couple of weeks ago, and my youngest child just graduated from college,” Weingartner said, in a message to his staff. “While I’m not ready to retire just yet, it is a natural time to consider the next phase of my career. For many years, part of my work here has been to cultivate relationships and raise funds that will provide for the future of athletics at the University. I have enjoyed it a great deal, and believe in its importance.”

Warren Coleman thanked Weingartner for building a strong program of athletics, across a spectrum from intercollegiate competition to recreational sports to fitness.

“Tom has played an important role in bringing the program to its current high level,” she said. “During his tenure, individuals and teams in 17 sports participated in post-season competition, while four students have gone on to win Rhodes Scholarships. Tom also was instrumental in the planning and building of the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center.”

Following the 2011-2012 year, in which five teams went on to post-season competition, UChicago was ranked in the top 10 percent of Division III intercollegiate programs in the nation, in the Learfield Sports Director’s Cup.

Prior to arriving in Chicago, Weingartner served as athletic director and associate professor of human development at Manhattanville (N.Y.) College from 1985 to 1990. From 1979 to 1985, he was the athletics director and an assistant professor of human development at St. Mary’s (Md.) College. He began his career at Northwestern University as director of intramural, recreational and club sports in 1974.

Weingartner earned a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, where he was a linebacker on the football team. He received a doctorate in educational administration from Northwestern.

Warren Coleman said the department will be in good hands, as Associate Department Chairs Rosalie Resch and Brian Baldea take over leadership on an acting basis. Warren Coleman said she would lead a national search for Weingartner’s successor.

“Athletics is an important part of student life, complementing academics and other extracurricular opportunities, while helping to foster leadership and teamwork. More broadly, the program provides a venue for building community among our students, faculty and staff,” Warren Coleman said. “Our commitment to this program remains strong, and we continue to look for new ways to invest in its success.”

Karen Warren Coleman appointed Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:00 -0500

Karen Warren Coleman, a senior leader in campus and student life at the University of Chicago, has been appointed Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services after a national search. Her appointment is effective July 1.

In this role, Warren Coleman will lead and provide strategic direction to the Office of Campus and Student Life in its vital efforts to support and enrich the lives of students, faculty and staff at the University and provide an extraordinary campus and community experience. She will manage multiple campus departments that serve the entire campus community, oversee 340 staff members and serve as an Officer of the University.

“The quality of student life, and of the campus experience more broadly, is critical to the University’s mission,” said President Robert J. Zimmer. “Karen is actively engaged as a leader in fostering a campus community that supports students, staff and faculty in doing their best work. She will bring invaluable experience and insight into her new role.”

The University of Chicago’s distinctive education is enhanced by a rich set of experiences for students that extends learning beyond the classroom. The Office of Campus and Student Life has a broad set of responsibilities for supporting programs, services and facilities that enrich the community and support the work of the University’s 15,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional school students.

“This is an exceptional opportunity at an exciting time in the University’s history,” Warren Coleman said. “I am eager to continue to build on the achievements in Campus and Student Life in a way that has a lasting impact on the student and campus community experience. I also look forward to ensuring that the student and community experience embodies the values of the University of Chicago.”

Warren Coleman will succeed Kimberly Goff-Crews, who announced in December 2011 her departure from UChicago to become Vice President for Student Life and University Secretary at Yale University, her alma mater.

Since joining the University of Chicago in 2009, Warren Coleman has brought a strategic and thoughtful approach to forging partnerships across the University. Warren Coleman has overseen division-wide strategic initiatives, including a plan to expand undergraduate student housing and the global dining initiative. She has also supervised the student housing and dining system, the largest operational unit within the division. This includes creating the new UChicago Dining department and facilitating the completion and start-up of the New South Campus Residence Hall and Commons.

“Karen has served with great distinction as Associate Vice President for Campus Life, a position in which she has been a strong and articulate advocate for the welfare and well-being of our students,” Dean of the College John Boyer said. “Karen has been a terrific supporter of our efforts to strengthen residential life communities and student life resources in the College. Her promotion to Vice President is wonderful and well deserved, and I look forward to a close and salutary partnership with her in the years to come.”

Under Warren Coleman’s leadership, the Office of Campus and Student Life will continue to oversee a wide range of departments crucial to students, including the Office of the Bursar; the University Community Service Center; Student Disability Services; Emergency and Crisis Resources; the Office of Event Services; the Office of Undergraduate Student Housing; UChicago Dining; the Office of International Affairs; International House; the Office of LGBTQ Student Life; the Office of Multicultural Affairs; the Office of the Reynolds Club and Student Activities; Physical Education and Athletics; the Office of the Registrar; Resources for Sexual Violence Prevention; Rockefeller Memorial Chapel; the Spiritual Life Office; and Student Health and Counseling Services.

Warren Coleman came to Chicago from the University of California, Berkeley, where she served in several roles. In addition to supervising five departments within the Office of the Dean of Students, her key responsibilities included representing and advising senior administrators on matters related to student affairs and student services; developing university policies and protocols to address student conduct, discipline and grievances; and partnering with other units on campus to address a wide range of student needs.

Prior to her work at Berkeley, Warren Coleman held student affairs positions at the George Washington University, the University of Vermont, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Warren Coleman also holds leadership roles in national student affairs professional organizations, including the American College Personnel Association and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

Warren Coleman earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and her master’s degree in education, higher education and student affairs administration from the University of Vermont.

Deborah Nelson named Deputy Provost for Graduate Education

Wed, 25 May 2011 15:12 -0500

Deborah Nelson, Associate Professor in English Language & Literature and the College, has been named to a three-year term as Deputy Provost for Graduate Education effective Sept. 1, Provost Thomas F. Rosenbaum announced. She will succeed Cathy J. Cohen, the David and Mary Winton Green Professor in Political Science and the College and the inaugural Deputy Provost for Graduate Education, who will return full-time to the faculty.

Nelson will work closely with the deans, department chairs, and directors of graduate studies to determine the next steps for the Graduate Aid Initiative and for graduate education more generally at Chicago.

“Debbie will be the point person for establishing and implementing University-wide policies for graduate student education and life,” Rosenbaum said. “This effort is fundamentally important for the intellectual well-being of the University.”

Nelson is an expert in late 20th-century American literature, gender studies, American ethnic literature, poetry and poetics, autobiography, photography, and Cold War history. In addition to numerous journal publications, Nelson is the author of Pursuing Privacy in Cold War America (2001), an examination of the discourse of privacy beginning with its emergence as a topic of intense anxiety in the late 1950s.

"I’m honored to accept this appointment. Graduate education, which always has been at the heart of the University’s mission, is a dynamic and evolving enterprise. I look forward to working with the deans, faculty, and students to help shape the graduate experience we offer as we continue to define what it means to be a first-rate graduate institution."

After receiving her Ph.D. from the City University of New York, Nelson joined the University faculty in 1996. She served as director of graduate studies in the English department from 2004-2005 and as director of the Center for Gender Studies from 2006-2009.

As a capstone to her term as director, Nelson and the Center for Gender Studies faculty launched “Women at Chicago,” a joint faculty, staff and student endeavor that chronicled and examined the history and role of women scholars at the University.

Lickerman named interim Assistant Vice President for Student Health and Counseling

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:00 -0600

Dr. Alex Lickerman has been named interim Assistant Vice President for Student Health and Counseling, effective Dec. 1.

Kimberly Goff-Crews, Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students in the University, announced the appointment, saying Lickerman will be responsible for integrating all health-related programs for students into one comprehensive health and counseling service. Among his important tasks will be strengthening services and access at the Student Care Center, working with the student health advisory board, and creating a health promotion and prevention program.

“Student health is crucial to student success and remains a focus of our efforts,” Goff-Crews said. “This appointment is the latest in a series of improvements instituted over the last two years, following an in-depth review of our services and extensive conversations with students.”

A specialist in internal medicine, Lickerman graduated from the College in 1988. He received his M.D. degree from the Pritzker School of Medicine in 1992, and performed his residency and internship at the University of Iowa.

He returned to the University of Chicago in 1995 as an Instructor of Clinical Medicine, was appointed Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine in 1996 and became a Clinical Associate in the Department of Medicine in 2009. He served for seven years as Director of the UCMC Primary Care Group, and has been recognized numerous times as an outstanding teacher of medical students and residents.

Goff-Crews said the new position was created after significant discussion with students about the need for and importance of an integrated and robust program of student health care services, counseling, and promotion of health and wellness. Lickerman will report to Goff-Crews, and will work with the Student Health Advisory Board to further assess the health care and counseling needs of students, evaluating existing services and identifying areas where new services or programs may be needed.

Later this month, Goff-Crews will convene a committee of students, staff and faculty who will undertake a national search to fill the position on a permanent basis.

Composer Augusta Read Thomas appointed University Professor

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 12:00 -0600

Renowned composer Augusta Read Thomas has been appointed as University Professor of Composition in the Department of Music and the College at the University of Chicago.

University Professors are selected for internationally recognized eminence in their fields as well as for their potential for high impact across the University. Thomas will become the 16th person ever to hold a University Professorship, and the fifth currently at the University.

Martha Roth, Dean of the Division of the Humanities, announced the appointment on Nov. 8. Thomas’ appointment takes effect in July 2011.

“It is exciting to welcome as a colleague someone whose work lies at the intersection of the creative and scholarly worlds,” Roth said in a message to Humanities faculty. “The University has a renewed commitment to expanding and integrating the arts into the academic enterprise and out into the city of Chicago and beyond; Augusta’s appointment is an important expression of that goal.”

Thomas is widely considered to be among the world’s most accomplished and original contemporary composers. She has won acclaim for the dramatic, spontaneous quality of her work and her masterful use of instrumental color.

Her extensive body of work has won praise from conductors, performers and music critics worldwide. From 1997 to 2006, she was the Mead Composer-in-Residence at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which has commissioned seven major compositions from Thomas. Her latest violin concerto is set to receive its American premiere at Washington D.C.’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in June 2011.

“To join the University of Chicago community is an incredible gift. My colleagues are scholars and musicians of the highest order who inspire me and from whom I can learn vastly,” Thomas said. “I am an active artist, and I hope to share my passion for the practice with our students. I look forward to working diligently, with wholehearted enthusiasm, to help ensure that the creative arts continue to thrive at the University of Chicago.”

She found early success as a composer at age 24, when she submitted her first major orchestral work to an American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers student composition contest. David Del Tredici, one of the contest judges and then the composer-in-residence for the New York Philharmonic, was so taken by Thomas’ piece that he decided to program it for the orchestra’s “Horizons” series.

Since that time, Thomas has premiered musical compositions with many of the world’s great ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra and many others.

Her many awards include recognition from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the Siemens Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. “Colors of Love,” a Chanticleer album featuring two of Thomas’ compositions, received a Grammy Award in 2000. Her double concerto for flute, violin and orchestra, Astral Canticle, was a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Music.

"The appointment of Augusta Read Thomas as a University Professor perfectly demonstrates the centrality of the creative and performing arts to the intellectual life of the University and to its culture of inquiry,” said Larry Norman, Deputy Provost for the Arts. “As we look forward to the spring 2012 inauguration of the Reva and David Logan Arts Center, her arrival will have a catalyzing effect not only on our programs in music composition, but also across the campus.”

Dean Roth noted that the appointment is part of the University’s commitment to faculty expansion, an initiative expected to add 60 new faculty members.

Thomas studied composition at Tanglewood, Northwestern, Yale and the Royal Academy of Music. She was a 1990-91 Bunting Fellow at Radcliffe College and a member of the Society of Fellows at Harvard University from 1991 to 1994. In 2004, Thomas was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, the school’s highest honor. The American Academy of Arts and Letters elected Thomas to membership in 2009.

In addition to her own works, Thomas is an active teacher of composition. She previously taught at the Eastman School of Music and Northwestern University, where she now sits on the Dean’s Advisory Music Board. She is currently mentoring six high school-aged composers who will each have their work premiere at the New Haven Symphony.

Yehudi Wyner, a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer who taught with Thomas at Tanglewood, praised her as “one of those rare people who [composes] because she cannot do otherwise. She lives first and foremost to write music.” At the same time, Wyner said, her artistic gifts are coupled with “extraordinary generosity” toward her colleagues and a desire to appreciate their work.

Thomas’ fellow University Professors currently at UChicago are Alexander Beilinson, the David and Mary Winton Green University Professor in Mathematics and the College; Gary Becker, University Professor in the Economics, Sociology and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business; James Cronin, University Professor Emeritus in Physics and Astronomy & Astrophysics, the Enrico Fermi Institute and the College; and David Wellbery, the LeRoy T. and Margaret Deffenbaugh Carlson University Professor in Germanic Studies, Comparative Literature, the Committee on Social Thought and the College.

Rasul named Director of Neighborhood Schools Program

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:00 -0500

Shaz Rasul, Managing Director of the Chicago Public Schools/University of Chicago Internet Project, has been named Director of the University’s Neighborhood Schools Program. Rasul also will manage the Gear–Up Program that provides academic enrichment to students at Dunbar Vocational Career Academy and Kenwood Academy High School. He will begin his new position Monday, Nov. 1.

Rasul, SM’08, AB’97, has a wide array of experience working with schools as a teacher trainer, curriculum integration expert, and an IT consultant for nearly a decade. He has worked with more than 35 public schools and the CPS Technology Magnet Cluster Program to help strengthen technology integration efforts throughout greater Chicago.

A Hyde Park resident, Rasul has been instrumental in mentoring various Neighborhood Schools Program students, and he worked closely with teachers and school administrators to find the best ways to utilize technological resources that would make a transformative impact in the classroom. Rasul also served in the U.S. Peace Corps, where he developed and facilitated workshops for teachers and school management committees in South Africa on the post–Apartheid curriculum.

“We are delighted to have Shaz Rasul join our team as director of such a worthwhile program that helps to enhance our education outreach efforts,” said Sonya Malunda, Associate Vice President for Civic Engagement. “The Neighborhood Schools Program provides support to more than 40 schools, community centers and the administrative offices of local elected officials. It is our goal to link these partners to the vast array of University resources to improve the quality of life within the community.”

Founded more than 30 years ago, the program provides opportunities for University of Chicago students to assist in classrooms, community centers and government offices. In addition to classroom instruction, students also do individual and group tutoring. The program not only connects the University’s public school partners to campus resources but also offers a way for students to gain invaluable, hands–on experience by working in the community.

“It has been the greatest of pleasures to work with Shaz and to experience his practical solutions to very difficult, daily problems of the city schools,” said Donald York, the Horace B. Horton Professor in Astronomy & Astrophysics, who has worked with Rasul as a co–director of CUIP. “I and all of our staff members wish him the very best in his new position.”

Bernadette Butler, Principal of William H. Ray Elementary School, located in Hyde Park, said Rasul has a sound ability to work with many different constituencies to handle the various educational needs within the community.

“I have worked with Mr. Rasul for the past three years in his leadership capacity with CUIP,” said Butler. “He worked over months, tirelessly, facilitating the process of how to upgrade our technology hardware at Ray School. During that project, Mr. Rasul had to work with parents, teachers and community members to address technology needs.”

Rasul succeeds long–time program director Duel Richardson, who retired in June after 34 years of building the University’s ties with the community. Richardson was an early staff member of the Office of Civic Engagement when it was created in 1974 as the Office of Community Affairs.

“As a college student at the University, working in the Neighborhood Schools Program gave me my first opportunity to help schools in a meaningful way,” said Rasul. “I am humbled by this appointment as this is an excellent way to help nurture and build upon our partnerships in the community while supporting the University’s commitment to public education.”