Katharine Strunk

University of Pennsylvania

Dean and George and Diane Weiss Professor of Education

Katharine O. Strunk is the Dean of the Graduate School of Education and the George and Diane Weiss Professor of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. She is nationally renowned for her partner-driven research and leadership, which brings multimethod, collaborative scholarship to bear on the most pressing questions facing education and educators. Dr. Strunk partners extensively with district and state policymakers nationwide, including work with the School District of Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and the California and Michigan Departments of Education. Under her leadership, Penn GSE has expanded and deepened partnerships with the School District of Philadelphia to support teacher development, leadership pipelines, and evidence-informed practice. She served as the only researcher on Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer's Student Recovery Advisory Council, which informed COVID-19 recovery efforts in schools statewide, and has advised on numerous major local and state education reforms. Dr. Strunk served as president of the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP) in 2021–2022. Prior to joining Penn GSE, Dr. Strunk was the Clifford E. Erickson Distinguished Chair in Education and a professor of education policy and, by courtesy, economics at Michigan State University, where she served as director of the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC), which partners with the Michigan Department of Education and local school districts to craft targeted research that is a priority for policymakers and educators. From 2009 to 2017 she served on the faculty of the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education and Sol Price School of Public Policy, and she began her career as a faculty member at the University of California at Davis School of Education (2007 – 2009).