News
In Assessment, It’s Not Rigor or Equity, It’s Both
Winter 2026
Lina Eskew’s “In Assessment, It’s Not Rigor or Equity, It’s Both” was recently published in the inaugural issue of the Journal of Diversity and Equity in Educational Development (2026). Her article invites readers into a timely and affirming reframing of one of higher education’s most persistent tensions: the belief that rigor and equity work against one another. Drawing on the everyday concerns of faculty and the scholarship of relationship-rich education, Eskew argues that the real challenge in assessment is not standards, but trust.
“When assessment is relationship-rich, rigor ceases to be harsh and equity ceases to be lenient; both become acts of trust that propel learning forward.”
Through concrete, research-informed examples, the article demonstrates how transparent expectations, compassionate challenges, and diversified assessment methods can deepen learning while honoring students’ lived experiences. Written from her perspective as an experienced educational developer deeply committed to partnering with instructors, Eskew’s article showcases the kind of thoughtful, principled work that strengthens teaching and learning across our institution. We are immensely proud to share her article with the Searle Community, envisioning assessment not as a tradeoff, but as a shared act of trust that helps all students thrive.
Advancing Pedagogy and Curricular Development
Winter 2026
We are delighted to announce Dr. Greg Siering as our new Director of Pedagogy and Curricular Development. Greg joins Northwestern after 15 years as Director of the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning at Indiana University Bloomington.
With an academic background in Composition and Rhetoric, Greg has dedicated two decades of his teaching career to first-year writing and first-year seminars. “Working with incoming students has taught me the value of building meaningful faculty-student relationships and the importance of attending to the whole student experience—from what promotes their sense of belonging at the university to how their learning in my course connects to their other educational experiences across the curriculum."
Greg’s leadership in the field of educational development has been marked by strategic vision, collaborative partnerships, and adaptability in navigating the evolving landscape of higher education, from active learning and authentic assessment to generative AI. At Indiana, Greg positioned his Center as a catalyst for scaling student success initiatives.
He spearheaded curricular redesign initiatives that significantly reduced DFW (low grade, failing, and withdrawal) rates in gateway courses, advanced equity in STEM education via the multi-institution SEISMIC Collaboration, and led the development of new frameworks for training graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants to support students’ complex problem-solving.
“What I valued most about that work was what drew me to Northwestern and the Searle Center, which is recognizing that a meaningful education is built on transformational experiences (for both faculty and students) and that putting assessment and continual growth at the heart of our teaching work is the path to long-term success."
Greg’s work is deeply rooted in evidence-based practice, meaningful assessment at multiple levels: course, program, and institutional, and a commitment to student learning. We look forward to the ways Greg’s expertise will inspire new directions and collaborations to advance innovative approaches to learning and teaching at Northwestern.
New Issue of JURH Released—Celebrating Lauri Dietz's Editorial Leadership
September 17, 2025
We are delighted to recognize Lauri Dietz, our Director of Pedagogy and Assessment, for her outstanding work as co-founding editor of the Journal of Undergraduate Research in the Humanities (JURH), which recently celebrated the launch of its second issue.
Co-directed by Lara Karpenko and Lauri, JURH is a pioneering, peer-reviewed online journal dedicated to showcasing exceptional undergraduate scholarship within the humanities.
The latest issue is especially inspiring, featuring the impressive work of five high school students and a compelling roundtable led by guest editor Peyton Karpenko, highlighting innovative approaches to guiding young scholars through research and writing.
Please join us in celebrating Lauri's contributions to this important work!
Northwestern's Accreditation Renewed through 2034–35
August 20, 2025
This August, the Institutional Actions Council of the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), renewed the accreditation of Northwestern University through the 2034–35 academic school year. This renewal marks the successful completion of a years-long process, bringing together hundreds of individuals across the University to develop re-accreditation materials. Co-chaired by the Searle Center's Senior Director, Jennifer Keys, and Senior Assistant Director, Lina Eskew, the Assessment and Accreditation Council played a pivotal role as an advising body throughout the process.
The peer reviewers commended Northwestern's interdisciplinary and collaborative culture and the progress made over the past ten years to advance assessment of student learning. We are immensely proud of Jennifer and Lina, who—joined on the council by Lauri Dietz—were instrumental in advancing the assessment of student learning, helming the Assessment & Curricular Change website and launching the Assessment Gallery to showcase systematized assessment of student learning across the University. Read more about reaccreditation in Northwestern Now.
Veronica Womack Honored with 2025 Debra A. Blade Trail Blazer Award
July 23, 2025
We are thrilled to share that Veronica Womack, Associate Director of High-Impact Teaching at the Searle Center, has been awarded the 2025 Debra A. Blade Trail Blazer Award from Northwestern University’s Black Professionals Network. The prestigious honor recognizes individuals who have “paved the way for others, showing fortitude and dedication in their professional and personal lives.”
Since joining the Center in 2019, Veronica has brought a deeply humanizing and transformation-oriented approach to her work, making a meaningful impact on the Northwestern community and broader field of educational development. Her leadership has been instrumental in launching programming that centers the experiences of Black women, including a powerful collaboration with the Women’s Center and fellow award recipient Njoki Kamau.
Veronica’s scholarship also reflects this commitment. Her recent co-authored study, published in CBE—Life Sciences Education, titled “‘In the Back of My Mind’: A Longitudinal Multiple Case Study Analysis of Successful Black Women Biomedical Graduate Students Navigating Gendered Racism” (2023), offers critical insights into the lived experiences of Black women in STEM graduate programs.
To those who work with her, this recognition comes as no surprise. Veronica is a cornerstone of initiatives that bolster student success and instructor vitality at Northwestern. From her stewardship of Northwestern’s Principles of Inclusive Teaching to her collaboration with Mesmin Destin on enhancing the student experience and her leadership of the University Practicum Content Design Team, Veronica cultivates learning environments where students and instructors alike can thrive as their full, authentic selves.
Please join us in celebrating Veronica’s well-deserved recognition and the powerful legacy she continues to build.
Searle Center Panel of Distinguished Fellows Inspires at TEACHx
June 20, 2025
Each May, Northwestern IT's Teaching and Learning Technologies (TLT) holds an annual conference showcasing experiments in teaching and learning with technology. Longtime partners, TLT praised the Searle Center for their dynamic collaboration, which drives pedagogical development and improves student outcomes.
This year, the Searle Center's panel of Distinguished Fellows was one of the conference's most widely attended sessions, as fellows grappled with generative AI, pedagogical risks, meaningful assessments, building community, and energizing instructor vitality. We congratulate TLT on another successful TEACHx, which has become an eagerly-awaited tradition at Northwestern and across Chicagoland.
Read about the Searle Center's dynamic collaboration at TEACHx 2025.
Eun Sandoval-Lee Honored with the Shujaa Award
June 10, 2025
At their annual Garden Party on June 5, the Women's Center at Northwestern University honored Searle Center Project Administrator of Strategic Initiatives Eun Sandoval-Lee with the esteemed Shujaa Award. A Swahili word meaning courageous, brave, and hero, the award honors a Northwestern staff member whose "service to the work of gender equality demonstrates courage, tenacity, and ethic of care."
Sandoval-Lee was recognized for their work on the "Gender Expansive Guidelines for the University Classroom" Learning & Teaching Guide, which Njoki Kamau, Associate Director of the Women's Center, called "a rigorously researched and community-based guide to make our institution a safe and promising place to learn for people of all genders."
The Searle Center is delighted by this special recognition of our colleague, who is known for her expert insight and considerate approach to all aspects of their work.
In the News: Searle Fellow Ryan Truby Launches 3D Printing Resin Design Labs for Hands-On Learning
April 8, 2025
McCormick professor Ryan Truby first outlined his vision for a course where students would design, evaluate, and 3D print their own materials in his faculty application to Northwestern. Supported by the 2023–24 Searle Fellows Program and a 2023 Murphy Society Award he received with Professor Jonathan Emery, Truby recently brought that vision to life with the redesigned Materials Science 331: Soft Materials.
The core undergraduate course in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering now illuminates fundamental principles through practical application, providing a hands-on approach for deep learning with the new 3D Printing Design Labs. Congratulations to Dr. Truby! Read the article.
In the News: Northwestern Prepares for Reaccreditation after 10 Years
March 10, 2025
The Searle Center is immensely proud of its contributions toward successful reaffirmation of accreditation. Senior Director of the Searle Center Jennifer Keys and Senior Assistant Director of Assessment Lina Eskew co-chair Northwestern's Assessment and Accreditation Council (AAC), leading a team of experts from across the University. Alongside AAC member and Searle Center Director of Pedagogy and Assessment Lauri Dietz, the AAC facilitates the ongoing, systematic cycle of assessing student learning outcomes at the program, unit, and school level, and the University's reaffirmation of accreditation through the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
Over the past several years, the AAC has championed assessment across Northwestern, developing a strategic framework for assessment, creating research-driven resources to drive curricular change, and showcasing exemplary work through the Assessment Gallery. Every school has contributed to the process, advancing Northwestern's priority of delivering an outstanding educational experience. With pride, the University now prepares for HLC's campus visit on April 28 and 29. Read the full article in The Daily Northwestern.
New Research: How to Use Copilot and ChatGPT to Create Rubrics
January 29, 2025
Senior Assistant Director of Equitable Assessment Lina Eskew provides practical guidance for using generative AI to create quality rubrics in "How to Use Copilot and ChatGPT to Create Rubrics," published in Teaching Repository for AI-Infused Learning.
Eskew shows instructors how to thoughtfully harness this technology to transform the traditionally laborious task of rubric creation into a creative, engaging process that efficiently makes use of instructors' time while ensuring student learning is supported by transparency, consistent grading, and targeted feedback. Read the practical, innovative article.
New Research: Data-Driven Collaboratives for Faculty Development
January 9, 2025
Searle Center educational developers Lina Eskew and Eun Sandoval-Lee discuss the efficacy of applying a comprehensive assessment and evaluation model in the development and implementation of faculty development initiatives in new research published in The Journal of Faculty Development.
Eskew and Sandoval-Lee reflect on the 2023–24 University Practicum on Reimagining Reassessment, offering practical advice on how data can shape faculty programming that is relevant, responsive, and tailored to faculty's varied schedules and preferred ways to engage. Learn more about the innovative research.
Teaching Takeaways from Northwestern's "Resilience Challenge"
January 7, 2025
Health psychologist Elizabeth Addington sits down with Associate Director of Inclusive Teaching Veronica Womack to discuss the power of cultivating positive emotions, the importance of self-compassion, and how individual resilience can enable continued work toward systemic change. Read the full interview.
Northwestern's Generative AI Advisory Committee Leads on AI in Education
November 13, 2024
Searle Senior Director, Jennifer Keys, discusses how instructors can optimize course design and delivery with generative AI in the Daily Northwestern. Read the article.
New Study Identifies Strategies to Combat High Attrition Rates in STEM Majors
Fall 2024
In a new peer-reviewed study, Searle Center Assistant Director of STEM Education, Erika Nadile, demonstrates how tapping into intrinsic motivation (i.e., the drive to learn for learning’s sake) and self-efficacy (i.e., confidence in one's abilities) increases persistence and fights attrition to enhance equity and inclusion in STEM education.
"We now have insight into when particular learners might consider leaving just by examining a single active learning course starting from a place of personal interest."
Nadile's study provides much-needed insight into contributing factors to the high attrition rate of undergraduate STEM majors and identifies a positive new direction for equitable and inclusive STEM education at Northwestern and beyond. Learn more about this transformative research.