University trustee Charles Ashby Lewis and Penny Bender Sebring have endowed UChicago Careers in Education Professions with a named directorship, investing in students who pursue careers in education.
“Chuck and Penny are deeply committed to improving teachers, classrooms and schools, and have long advocated for the inclusion of these professional tracks in our Career Advancement programming,” said John W. Boyer, dean of the College at a reception announcing the creation of the Lewis-Sebring Director for the education professions program. “We are grateful for their leadership and their support,” he said.
UChicago Careers in Education Professions began in 2012 as a program within Career Advancement for students in the College, graduate students and alumni. Nahida Teliani leads the popular program, now as the Lewis-Sebring Director.
“I am humbled that my job title now bears the names of two people I hold in the highest regard,” Teliani said, thanking the couple for their guidance and direction as the education professions program has taken off. It helps students prepare for careers in teaching, administration, research and policy, and currently it serves hundreds of students across all academic disciplines.
In the program’s first year, Teliani has matched students with internships in places as varied as the U.S. Department of Education and the Boys and Girls Club of San Francisco. She has arranged treks across the city of Chicago and around the country to education policy centers, schools and research centers. She has advised hundreds of students on their career paths. And she has seen the first year of program graduates begin careers in education.
“We are continually cultivating an environment where the future educational leaders of America can thrive,” Teliani said.
The Lewis-Sebring Family Foundation has been dedicated to many aspects of education reform, policy, research and training. Penny Sebring is a senior research associate at the University of Chicago and founding co-director of the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Public Education Fund and is a member of the Visiting Committee to the Division of Social Sciences.
In addition to his role as a University Trustee, Charles Lewis is highly involved with the University’s Urban Education Institute and is a member of the Governing Board of the University’s Charter School. He is a member of the visiting committees to the Division of the Social Sciences and to the College.
Beyond supporting and advising the Careers in Education Professions program, the couple contributes to the University’s Metcalf internship program to allow students to pursue substantive internships.
Fourth-year John Lim worked as an intern at the New York City Department of Education through the Metcalf internship program during the summer of 2013, and said his exposure to real-world education policy and experts was vital to his preparation for a career in education. “This has truly been a transformative experience for me,” Lim said.
In another sign of the early successes of the program, 30 percent of graduating seniors had lined up job placements by the end of Fall Quarter. Lim is among them and will start his career with two years of classroom experience with Teach for America.
—Prof. Kunle Odunsi
