Diana Hess became dean of the School of Education in August 2015. Following are some highlights from her time leading the School:
Grand Challenges
The Grand Challenges initiative launched in 2017 as an effort to change the culture of the School from successful and siloed, to highly successful and interdisciplinary. It employed strategies to increase opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, including: consultation on how to support and grow faculty ideas and teams; meetings to connect faculty and community members around a theme; and writing and editorial support to ensure high-quality proposals. Grand Challenges held grant competitions in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Over time, more than half of the faculty members within the School submitted Grand Challenges grant proposals, with some of these efforts leading to grant-funded projects that continue today.
Impact 2030
In August of 2020, the School of Education launched Impact 2030, an ambitious, donor- funded initiative designed to strengthen our already highly regarded School leading up to its centennial celebration in 2030. This program is made up of four pillars: significantly increasing student scholarships; bolstering support for faculty and staff, which includes new funding for a Faculty Fellows program that recognizes top faculty members by providing flexible funding to further outstanding research and scholarship; ensuring access to exceptional learning experiences for students, including paid internships and new study abroad programs tied to School majors; and helping to solve the teacher shortage in Wisconsin via the Teacher Pledge. The Dean’s Excellence Scholarship program is one example of how funding via Impact 2030 is transforming how the School is approaching its efforts to better attract, enroll, and support a greater number of students with a range of backgrounds and experiences. The Dean’s Excellence Scholarship program is focused on recruiting and supporting first-year students from a variety of backgrounds who have financial need by providing them with guaranteed, four-year funding packages.
Teacher Pledge
One of Impact 2030’s most visible innovations is the UW–Madison School of Education Wisconsin Teacher Pledge, which uses donor funds to provide the equivalent of in-state tuition and fees, as well as testing and licensing costs, for students in any of the School’s 15 teacher education programs. Students then pledge to stay in Wisconsin following graduation and teach for three to four years. This past fall, more than 750 School of Education graduates or current students had taken the pledge, and 350 pledge takers were teaching in 87 public school districts and in 13 private schools across Wisconsin.
Rankings
The School of Education has consistently ranked as one of the top schools of education in the nation and is currently No. 3, according to the 2023-24 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate School Rankings. In all, nine of the School’s graduate programs are ranked among the top 10 in the country.
Outstanding faculty
Since 2015 to the start of the fall semester, 76 new faculty had been hired across the School (out of 167 total). Faculty members are increasingly diverse, with nearly half of the School’s assistant professors identifying as people of color.
Growth
The number of undergraduate and graduate students majoring in School of Education programs has grown 25 percent since 2015 — and the number of courses taught across the School (measured in credit hours) has grown nearly 60 percent. The School now teaches more credits than any other school/college on the UW–Madison campus, except for the College of Letters & Science (which has 39 departments to the School of Education’s 10).
Improved supports for students, faculty, and staff
Since Hess took over as dean, the School has created a Teacher Education Center, a Global Engagement Office, an Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and an Office of Professional Learning and Community Education (PLACE). The School also has expanded its Office of Communications and Advancement and designed a new approach to Student Services and Career Services to focus on high-quality advising and access to internships. Together, these efforts are offering students, faculty, staff, and the public first-rate programs and a variety of supports that are needed to do great work.
Fundraising success
Over the course of Hess’ tenure as dean, the School of Education has raised more than $122 million in donor support, making much of what has previously been described possible. In addition, this donor support has helped to create 12 new named professorships and 18 faculty fellowships, and helped launch the Dean’s Excellence Scholarship initiative, which through the fall semester had provided 135 undergraduate students with four-year scholarships across the arts, health, and education.