SEL Endowed Chair

Investiture of Roger P. Weissberg as NoVo Endowed Chair in Social and Emotional Learning

On Oct. 20, 2011, the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) celebrated the investiture of CASEL President and CEO Roger Weissberg as the NoVo Endowed Chair in Social and Emotional Learning. Weissberg is also a UIC professor of psychology and education. The topic of his presentation was “Establishing Social and Emotional Learning as an Educational Priority Across Chicago, Illinois, and the United States.” Attendees at the event included Chris Kennedy, chair of the University of Illinois board of trustees; Jennifer Buffett, president of NoVo Foundation; other members of CASEL’s board of directors; and many of Weissberg’s colleagues who have been active in the field of social and emotional learning over the years.

Jennifer Buffett set the stage for Weissberg’s presentation by affirming her foundation’s commitment to supporting social and emotional learning. “In the complexity of the 21st century,” she said, “we need to give young people the skills to recognize and master their emotions, to resolve conflicts, to build their resilience, and to work together creatively. If generations of children develop these skills from early childhood, we will soon be living in a very different—and much better—world.”

To read more about the investiture, see the article on the UIC website.

Photo: CASEL’s board of directors gathered for the investiture ceremony of the NoVo Endowed Chair in Social and Emotional Learning at the University of Illinois at Chicago on Oct. 20, 2011. Back row, l. to r.: Timothy Shriver, chair; Mark Greenberg; Roger Weissberg, president and CEO; Stephen Arnold. Front row, l. to r.: Ann Nerad, vice chair; Linda Darling-Hammond; Jennifer Buffett. Not pictured: Carl Cohn.