September 2023
On September 11–12, deans and associate deans at colleges of education and leaders at research institutions attended the Fall Policy Meeting of the AERA Consortium of University and Research Institutions (AERA-CURI) in the AERA Convening Center in Washington, D.C.
Kathryn Chval and Felice J. Levine
Headline speakers from the White House, key federal agencies, higher education institutions, and science coalitions and the news media presented and generated engaged discussion with attendees representing institutions across the country. Participants tackled major education issues facing the field, ranging from the political complexities facing institutional leaders and implications of the Supreme Court affirmative action ruling, to DEI strategies and the push for open science.
This event represented the first AERA-CURI Fall Policy Meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were excited to reconvene AERA-CURI with such a strong line-up of speakers and attendees,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “Our two days of compelling content and enriching dialogue will serve as an important springboard for further close collaboration with research leaders across our field.”
Preceded by an orientation for new deans the day before, the full meeting kicked off on September 11 with a brief welcome and opening remarks from Levine and AERA-CURI Executive Committee Chair Kathryn Chval (University of Illinois, Chicago).
For the first session, James L. Moore, III, assistant director of the STEM Education Directorate at the National Science Foundation, joined for a conversation highlighting the priorities of the directorate. The conversation was moderated by Chrystalla Mouza (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign). In the session, Moore discussed the need to address teacher preparation and access barriers, as well as the need to engage in partnerships and collaborations.
The next session, “Red States–Blue States and Community Contexts—Complexities, Strategies, and Potential AERA-CURI Steps on Behalf of Our Deans,” featured panelists Stephanie Knight (Southern Methodist University) and Suzanne Rosenblith (University at Buffalo) and was moderated by Michael C. Rodriguez (University of Minnesota). In this session, panelists focused on recommendations for collaboration and actions to advance education despite the differences between red and blue states.
Sessions on the first day also included a discussion on key congressional priorities in education research policy with Adrienne Epstein, legislative assistant for Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Sujith Cherukumilli, legislative assistant for Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), as well as a conversation with Nasser Paydar, assistant secretary for postsecondary education at the U.S. Department of Education, on the Biden administration’s priorities in higher education.
In addition, Jamie Lewis Keith of EducationCounsel led a session on the implications of the recent Supreme Court decision on affirmative action, while Kimberly Griffin (University of Maryland, College Park) and Michelle Young (University of California–Berkeley) joined moderator Dawn Williams (Howard University) for a discussion on DEI strategies and planning for education schools during challenging times.
That was followed by a session, moderated by Levine, featuring Daniel Goroff, deputy director for science and society at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, who laid out agency priorities on open science, evidence-based policy, and equity.
To begin the second day of the meeting, Mark Schneider, director of the Institute of Education Sciences, provided an overview of the organization’s priorities and aspirations in a conversation moderated by Chval. This was followed by a session featuring Sarah D. Sparks, an education reporter for Education Week. Sparks provided insight on the big education issues driving media coverage of education research and policy.
The final day of the conference concluded with a panel session with representatives from AERA’s coalition partners, Juliane Baron (Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences), Rachel Dinkes (Knowledge Alliance), and Wendy Naus (Consortium of Social Science Associations), in which they discussed their organizations’ plans and strategies for advocating for priorities in education research.
AERA-CURI member institutions (1) examine and collaborate on emerging and persisting issues associated with their research missions, (2) facilitate their engagement in AERA's education and advocacy efforts to promote federal research support and sound research policies, and (3) enhance collaborative efforts among individual scholars within AERA and the academic and research institutions of which they are a part.
It is the only such consortium that allows for universities and research institutions to be an integral part of and contribute directly to an association dedicated to promoting education research goals for the nation. In addition to the annual Fall Policy Meeting, AERA-CURI is a resource throughout the year; takes up priority research, policy, and training issues important to CURI institutions; and holds special programming during the AERA Annual Meeting.
Membership for September 2023–August 2024 is currently open. To learn more about AERA-CURI, click here.