UW–Madison’s Sky Duke, a rising third-year PhD student in the School of Education’s Department of Educational Policy Studies (EPS), has been selected as a 2025 Summer Fellow by the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE).
As part of this nationally competitive fellowship, Duke will collaborate with the Crimsonbridge Foundation to examine how institutions successfully re-engage adults who have some college credit but no degree — an issue that affects more than 40 million people across the United States. Her project includes identifying exemplar institutions from varied geographic and educational contexts using national data, followed by a case study of institutional strategies and surrounding policy environments.
“Working with the Crimsonbridge Foundation as a SREE Summer Fellow will allow me to engage directly with influential policy actors by sharing personally meaningful and actionable research findings,” says Duke, who is also an Education Graduate Research Scholars (Ed-GRS) fellow. “I am beyond excited to connect with folks who share my interests, and who are well-versed in research as it is produced and disseminated outside of academia.”
Duke notes that the project not only advances research on adult learner engagement but also supports her own professional goals. “This work is not only important for the development of policies that effectively support returning adult students, but it also represents a major step forward in my career development,” she says. “I plan to pursue work outside academia, so exposure to such an influential area as educational philanthropy will help me better understand ways that higher education research is conducted and used outside universities.”
As part of the fellowship, Duke will present her findings at the SREE Annual Conference and the EdFunders conference this fall.
“She is uniquely qualified for this role, and her project will have important impacts on research, policy, and practice,” says Taylor Odle, an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and Duke’s advisor. “Through her research and coursework, Sky is developing as a thought leader around ways that states and institutions can better support returning adult learners.”
Learn more about the SREE Summer Fellowship.