Faculty Affiliate Outreach & Engagement

The Gordon Institute launched a survey for faculty affiliates to assess what policy issues, topics, and concerns they would identify as priorities for the Institute’s policy agenda.

Thirteen (13) affiliates out of roughly 29 responded. They reported their primary interest or experienced impact in education policy is at the local/district (33%) and federal level (27%), primarily within the K–12 education area (47%).

Key policy areas of interest or concern include teacher and leader preparation programs (47%), academic, social, and emotional learning (33%), and federal research funding for colleges and universities (33%).

Faculty affiliates reported most concern for students of color (33%), students with disabilities (20%), and immigrant students (20%) in relation to education policy.

Their current involvement in policy-related projects is wide-ranging, including ethnic studies curriculum development and implementation (e.g, Black studies, Latininidad, Lenape), AI education, school governance, racial literacy, teacher training and development, and special education.

On February 27, 2025, the Gordon Institute also hosted a presentation by Education First, a national mission-driven strategy and policy organization with deep expertise in education improvement, to examine the impact of the federal executive orders on K–12 and higher education, and to get a perspective on the funding landscape given the shifts in the federal priorities.

The Gordon Institute also hosted a panel discussion, Equity-Driven Research in a Shifting Political Landscape, on April 10, 2025, featuring Adam Gamoran, President of the William T. Grant Foundation, and Caroline Ebanks, TC Vice Dean of Research.

The panel provided interesting insights about the challenges of pursuing grant funding for equity-driven research and strategies for how best to approach this rapidly shifting funding landscape.