$25 million gift from Priscilla and Steven A. Kersten to advance and strengthen K–12 education research
Steven A. Kersten and his wife, Priscilla Kersten have made a $25 million commitment to the University of Chicago in support of the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice’s Urban Education Institute. Steven Kersten, JD’80, is a University of Chicago Trustee, and Priscilla Kersten is a member of the Crown Family School Advisory Council.
The gift significantly expands UEI’s focus by increasing innovative research, training next-generation education leaders, and funding cross-disciplinary collaborations that strengthen schools and student outcomes. In recognition of this transformative gift and the institute’s reenergized focus, UChicago has renamed UEI as the Kersten Institute for Urban Education.
Since its founding, the Urban Education Institute has focused on creating and sustaining reliably excellent urban schooling through a combination of research, training, and the development of innovative tools for schools nationwide.
This work includes the UChicago Consortium on School Research, which has informed significant and lasting improvements within the Chicago Public Schools and has been replicated in urban centers across the nation.
The Kerstens’ gift builds on the firm foundation of these Urban Education Institute efforts and will hinge on partnerships to improve schools and student academic and life outcomes.
It will empower a renewed and expanded vision and mission that will attract top talent, develop new educational leaders, and test interdisciplinary innovations or interventions that lead to greater achievement among children from prekindergarten through college.
“This marvelous and inspiring gift will support faculty and doctoral students to discover and demonstrate more effective approaches to education, as well as help graduate students who are learning the practice of social work on their education journeys,” said President Paul Alivisatos.
The Kerstens have long believed that improving schools and ensuring access to high-quality education for all students are among the most critical issues facing society today. Longtime UChicago supporters, Steven Kersten has served as a trustee since 2006, and Priscilla Kersten currently serves as a member of the Crown Family School Advisory Council and is a member and previous chair of the University of Chicago Women’s Board.
They have previously given over $24 million to various university initiatives, including the Physical Sciences Division and the college’s Odyssey Scholarship Fund, in addition to generous prior support of UEI.
Their new gift will enhance their influence on K–12 education—not only by funding specific research initiatives but also by supporting faculty and student excellence, ensuring that the new Kersten Institute for Urban Education becomes a destination for rigorous applied policy and practice research.
Underscoring UChicago’s commitment to groundbreaking educational research, three new endowed faculty chairs will be created at the Crown Family School. Funds from the Kersten gift will also be augmented by matching funds from a gift made by Amy Wallman, and Trustee Richard Wallman, who in 2023 initiated a fundraising challenge to spur fellow supporters to create 30 new endowed chairs in schools and divisions across the university.
The endowed faculty at the Crown Family School and the Kersten Institute for Urban Education will be part of a prestigious, university-wide Wallman Society of Fellows.
“It was such a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to meet the Wallmans’ fundraising challenge,” said Steven Kersten.
“It enabled us not only to deepen our commitment to bettering urban education and our partnership with the Crown Family School but also to increase the impact of our gift in alignment with a significant university-wide priority.”
While securing exceptional faculty to conduct innovative educational research, the Kersten Institute for Urban Education will also seed future excellence in K–12 education scholarship by supporting doctoral students who will become the leaders of tomorrow.
As the site of the country’s first Ph.D. program in social work, established in 1920, the Crown Family School has long recognized the importance of preparing the next generation of scholars to advance knowledge, drive innovation, and address society’s most complex challenges through rigorous research and teaching.
This generous gift also underscores the vital connection between mental and behavioral health and student academic success, addressing the current shortfall of trained school social workers who can support the whole child.
Funds will provide scholarships that will cultivate a dedicated pipeline of rigorously trained and committed school social work professionals who can meet the mental health support needs of students, enabling them to thrive.
A cross-disciplinary incubator fund will bring together scholars from across the university to support the development and testing of high-impact, innovative, or experimental strategies that strengthen schools and advance academic outcomes for students across all grade levels.
The gift also provides research funds to test interventions at scale in schools and support the translation of effective programs into schools and communities.
“Transforming K-12 education requires a multifaceted and integrated approach that involves research, innovation, and experts committed to long-lasting improvement in schools and student achievement,” said Deborah Gorman-Smith, dean of the Crown Family School and Emily Klein Gidwitz Professor.
“Through Steve and Priscilla’s vision and commitment, this gift will drive change that will make an impact among children everywhere, who deserve a quality education to prepare them for healthy, productive lives and careers.”
The Kerstens emphasize the urgency of securing greater educational opportunity for students today. “Education opens up the world of possibility. We believe all children should have the opportunity to attain an excellent education that enables them to live up to their full potential and participate as active citizens in our society,” said Priscilla Kersten.
“By investing in the Kersten Institute for Urban Education, we underscore both the scale of the challenge that it confronts while also demonstrating our firm belief that the Crown Family School is an essential location from which to tackle it,” said Steven Kersten.
“There is no more significant field of research than one that helps children fulfill their potential, and there is no better place I can think of for this to happen than at the University of Chicago.”