Professional Biography
Peter Kuriloff received his B.A. in history from Antioch College and his doctorate in counseling psychology from Harvard. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association in school psychology. At Penn GSE, he twice chaired the Psychology and Education Division before moving to its Teaching, Learning, and Leadership Division. Currently, he teaches about building learning communities and managing change in the Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership. He also serves as the Senior Advisor on Team Effectiveness and Career Development in Wharton’s MBA Program for Executives. He has held a number of university-wide positions, including Chair of the Grievance Commission, Chair of the Senate Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility, and Chair of the Faculty Senate.
Research Interests and Current Projects
Professor Kuriloff is the Research Director for the Center for the Study of Boys’ and Girls’ Lives (www.csbgl.org). CSBGL is consortium of 9 independent schools, working together with faculty and graduate students at Penn, helping teams of students and teachers conduct youth participatory action research on issues of concern to them at the intersection of gender, race, class, ethnicity, and sexuality. His research interests include gender dynamics and their impact on the opportunities of children; minority retention in elite schools and colleges; and, in general, the reinvention of schools as more inclusive, open, generous, and effective places for the children who inhabit them. With three of his doctoral students, he recently completed a national study of what girls and their teachers describe as effective, engaging, and powerful lessons. He and his colleagues are actively publishing their findings and a book on the subject is forthcoming from Rowman-Littlefield.
