Spring 2025 Ed Policy Seminar Series
2025-01-28 15:00 - 2025-04-15 17:00 (America/New_York) | 610 Commonwealth Avenue Room 101 Boston, MA 02215, 610 Commonwealth Avenue Room 101, Boston, MA, 02215, United States
WHEELOCK EDUCATIONAL POLICY CENTER SPRING SEMINAR 2025

Boston University’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and The Wheelock Educational Policy Center are excited to host three leading scholars this spring for a Ed Policy Seminar Series. Given growing interest in our local community and increased prominence of presenters, we’re happy to open this speaker series to individuals outside of the BU faculty and students typically in attendance.
All are welcome. The seminar series is geared towards an academic audience and will include detailed and technical discussion about methods used in the research, in addition to the policy context and implications.
Register for one or all. Events are in-person. Reception to follow. Space is limited, please RSVP.
If you require parking or other logistics support, please email the Wheelock Policy team.

REGISTER NOW

Constance Lindsay (University of North Carolina): Tuesday, January 28th, 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Bio: Constance Lindsay earned a doctorate in human development and social policy from Northwestern University, where she was an Institute of Education Sciences’ predoctoral fellow. Since leaving Northwestern, Lindsay has worked in education policy in various contexts, applying her research training in traditional studies and in creating and evaluating new systems and policies regarding teachers. Lindsay’s areas of expertise include teacher quality and diversity, analyzing and closing racial achievement gaps, and adolescent development. Her work has been published in such journals as Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis and Social Science Research. Lindsay received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Duke University and master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University. Before doctoral study at Northwestern, she was a Presidential Management Fellow at the US Department of Education. Constance Lindsay’s research focuses on policies and practices to close racial achievement gaps in education. Currently, her main focus is on teacher diversity and how to obtain a high quality, diverse educator workforce.
Topic: How Teachers Learn Racial Competency: Through Peers and in Context
Abstract: The US teaching force remains disproportionately white while the student body grows more diverse. It is therefore important to understand how and under what conditions white teachers learn racial competency. This study applies a mixed-methods approach investigate the hypothesis that Black peers improve white teachers’ effectiveness when teaching Black students. The quantitative portion of this study relies on longitudinal data from North Carolina to show that having a Black same-grade peer significantly improves the achievement and reduces the suspension rates of white teachers’ Black students. These effects are persistent over time and largest for novice teachers, which suggests that the mechanism at play is peer learning. Qualitative evidence from open-ended interviews of North Carolina public school teachers reaffirms these findings, and uncovers sources of learning for teachers and contextual factors that moderate these findings.

Mark Chin (Vanderbilt University): Tuesday, April 15th, 3:00pm - 4:30pm
I am an Assistant Professor of Education Policy and Inequality in the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College.
I study how public education in the U.S. can help combat racial and socioeconomic inequality. In my research, I draw on the economics of education, psychology, and sociology literatures and use rigorous quantitative methodology to identify the causal impacts of different policies, programs, and interventions in schools on students’ outcomes. My current projects focus on school integration, school choice, racial bias in education, and how schools support the development of antiracist youth.
I received my Ph.D. in Education with a concentration in Education Policy and Program Evaluation from Harvard University in 2022.

Association for Education Finance & Policy - 51st Annual Conference
2026-03-19 - 2026-03-21 | Swissotel, Chicago, 323 East Upper Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL, 60601, United States
WEPC is attending this year’s Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP) 2026 Conference in Chicago. This conference brings together researchers, students, policymakers, practitioners, and others interested in education policy to share and learn about research spanning from early childhood education to long-term postsecondary outcomes. This year, WEPC faculty and students will be presenting more than 15 papers, chairing 3 sessions and hosting one of the can’t miss Policy Dialogue blocks. Get details on WEPC-specific sessions and be sure to join us or follow along on socials!

Education Policy Seminar Fall 2026 Series
2026-09-22 15:00 - 2026-10-20 16:30 | BU Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences (CDS), 665 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, 02215, United States
WHEELOCK EDUCATIONAL POLICY CENTER FALL SEMINAR 2026

Boston University’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and The Wheelock Educational Policy Center are excited to host three leading scholars this fall for an Ed Policy Seminar Series. Education policy shapes every community, so we are happy to open this series to those outside of BU who would like to attend.
All are welcome. The seminar series is geared towards an academic audience and will include detailed and technical discussion about methods used in the research, in addition to the policy context and implications.
Register for one or all. Events are in-person. Reception to follow. Space is limited, please RSVP.
If you require parking or other logistics support, please email the Wheelock Policy team.

REGISTER NOW

Dominique J. Baker (University of Delaware): Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026 @ 3pm - 4:30pm
Time: 3:00pm – 4:30pm
Location: Rajen Kilachand Center Colloquium Room 101
Bio: Dominique J. Baker is an Associate Professor of Education and Public Policy with a joint appointment in the College of Education & Human Development and the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Delaware. Her research focuses on the way that education policy affects and shapes the access and success of minoritized students in higher education. She primarily investigates student financial aid/finance, admissions policies, and policies that influence the ability to create an inclusive & equitable campus climate.

Seth Gershenson (American University): Tuesday, October 6th, 2026 @ 3pm - 4:30pm
Time: 3:00pm – 4:30pm
Location: Location: BU Computing & Data Sciences (CDS) Building, Room 1101
Bio: Seth Gershenson holds a PhD from Michigan State University in Economics with a primary focus on education policy. While at Michigan State, he taught several courses and received an Outstanding Teaching award. Professor Gershenson has also been honored with the New Scholar Award by the American Education Finance Association. His approach to teaching and scholarship is to apply economic approaches to practical, policy-driven questions in public education, specifically teacher behavior. Professor Gershenson teaches Quantitative Methods, Managerial Economics, and Economics for Policy Analysis to MPA and MPP students.

Christina Weiland (University of Michigan): Tuesday, October 20th, 2026 @ 3pm - 4:30pm
Time: 3:00pm – 4:30pm
Location: Location: BU Computing & Data Sciences (CDS) Building, Room 1646
Bio: Christina Weiland is a professor at the Marsal Family School of Education at the University of Michigan and (by courtesy) the Ford School of Public Policy, where she is affiliated with the Educational Studies department and the Combined Program in Psychology and Education program. She serves as co-Director of the Education Policy Initiative at the Ford School of Public Policy and as Director of the University of Michigan’s Predoctoral Training Program in Causal Inference in Education Policy Research. She is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Learning Policy Institute and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Urban Institute. Dr. Weiland’s research focuses on the effects of early childhood interventions and public policies on children’s development, especially on children from families with low-incomes. She is particularly interested in the active ingredients that drive children’s gains in successful, at-scale public preschool programs. She is also interested in quantitative research methods, educational measurement, and developmental processes research. Her work is characterized by strong, long-standing research collaborations with practitioners, particularly the Boston Public Schools Department of Early Childhood.
