Cheryl Logan to lead Penn GSE’s new McGraw Center for Educational Leadership

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PHILADELPHIA (April 27, 2023) – Cheryl Logan has been named inaugural executive director of the new McGraw Center for Educational Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE). The announcement was made today by Penn GSE Dean Pam Grossman, with Logan expected to officially start in July.

The Center was announced last fall as part of a record-setting gift by The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation, Inc., and its focus will be on creating next-level education leaders across all sectors of learning. The Center launch will be one of the final events for outgoing Dean Pam Grossman, who has made the preparation of future education leaders who are flexible, innovative, and open to change an important part of her legacy.

"We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Cheryl Logan as the founding executive director of the McGraw Center for Educational Leadership,” said Dean Pam Grossman.“With her wealth of experience and expertise in the field of education, Dr. Logan is poised to play an instrumental role in the development of the next generation of education leaders. We believe that her innovative and visionary approach will help shape the direction of our center and ensure that the center becomes a driving force for positive change in the field of education. We are excited to have her on board and look forward to the impact she will make in this new role."

Logan, who earned her Ed.D. in 2017 from Penn GSE’s Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership, is a former Chief Academic Officer at the School District of Philadelphia and has maintained close ties to Philadelphia and Penn over the years. She is currently the superintendent of Omaha Public Schools – the largest district in Nebraska – where she rose to national prominence for leading the 50,000-plus student district during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Omaha was one of the first large, urban school districts in the nation to return to in-person learning in 2020. This leadership was one of the defining factors cited when she won a McGraw Prize in 2022. Logan announced in December 2022 that she would be stepping down to return to the East Coast.

 The McGraw Center for Educational Leadership, a newly endowed initiative, will build on Penn GSE’s outstanding legacy of preparing leaders in pre-K–12, higher education, and workplace learning to cultivate leaders who understand pressing problems in education from multiple perspectives and can develop innovative solutions. The McGraw Center will position the School at the forefront of thought leadership. As Executive Director, Dr. Logan will develop programs and convene gatherings that benefit multiple constituents — students and alumni, scholars and practitioners, and local, national and global thought leaders. In this role, Dr. Logan will work closely with the directors and faculty of GSE’s leadership programs in K-12, higher education and corporate and adult learning, building bridges across sectors and equipping leaders to develop visionary approaches to complex challenges in education.

Logan will be in attendance for the McGraw Center for Educational Leadership launch event June 8, which includes a keynote and panel discussion on the role of AI in educational leadership. 

About Penn’s Graduate School of Education

The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, or Penn GSE, is a leading research education school and one of the top-ranked graduate schools of education in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report. The school is notably entrepreneurial, launching innovative degree programs for practicing professionals and unique partnerships with local educators. It is also home to the Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition and centers such as Catalyst @ Penn GSE, a hub for global education innovation. 

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