Penelope Peterson

Penelope Peterson is Eleanor R. Baldwin Professor and Dean of the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. Prior to her appointment as Dean in September 1997, she served as University Distinguished Professor of Education at Michigan State University and Sears-Bascom Professor of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since becoming Dean of Northwestern's School of Education and Social Policy (SESP), Peterson has led the school in bringing theory and research together with practice to improve learning and teaching in the local educational context. She has partnered with the Chicago Principal's Association and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern to design and implement LAUNCH (Leadership Academy and Urban Network for Chicago)-a leadership training program to create "break-the-mold" principals for the Chicago Public Schools. Most recently, Peterson created a partnership with Evanston's District 65 in which faculty will work together with teachers, principals and leaders to improve the teaching and learning in Evanston schools. Dr. Peterson is past president of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). In 1992, Peterson was given the Distinguished Research Award by the Association of Teacher Educators. Her recent books include Restructuring in the Classroom: Teaching, Learning, and School Organization and Learning from Our Lives: Women, Research, and Autobiography in Education. She received her B.S. degree (1971) in psychology and philosophy from Iowa State University and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees (1976) from Stanford University in Psychological Studies in Education.