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Dear Friends and Colleagues:
As many of you know, CEW’s founding Director Dr. Anthony P. Carnevale has retired, and I have stepped into the role of CEW director. Dr. Carnevale helped fill a vacuum at the nexus of education and the workforce, drawing on expertise he acquired during a distinguished career spanning research and public policy. He invited Dr. Nicole Smith and me to join him in launching CEW in 2008, a time when higher education researchers paid little attention to workforce issues, and labor-market researchers likewise took little notice of higher education. The disconnect in our understanding of the relationship between education and work was substantial, despite the fact that postsecondary education and training had become increasingly important to workforce preparation.
A scan of the landscape today speaks volumes about how things have changed. The research and policy space that Dr. Carnevale and CEW helped define is now home to many highly respected groups, representing viewpoints across the political spectrum. The proliferation of work in this area is a tip of the hat to Dr. Carnevale’s prescient leadership. It also reflects, in part, CEW’s hard work to disentangle the connections between learning and careers and to expose and help remedy the inequalities that plague our education and workforce systems.
As I step into the role of CEW director, I find myself reflecting on how far CEW and the field have come—and yet, how little progress we’ve collectively made in materially improving outcomes for students and workers. Like Dr. Carnevale, I am driven by the recognition that American education is not living up to its purpose as “the great equalizer.” Racial/ethnic, gender, and class biases still exist from pre–K through college, and these dynamics carry into the labor market. I am committed to ensuring that CEW continues to produce high-quality analysis that exposes the fractures and shortcomings of our education and workforce system—not just to reveal the system’s flaws, but to inform policy and practice so all Americans have a fair shot at opportunity.
We are currently working on a full slate of projects that speak to this commitment. Over the summer, we will publish a report on the return on investment associated with law degrees that outlines disparities in outcomes by race/ethnicity and gender, and we will release our projections of educational demand and good jobs through 2031. This fall, we will publish a report on the state of graduate education and the policy changes needed to limit the financial risk associated with attaining a graduate degree—a risk that is disproportionately borne by marginalized groups. These reports will follow our recent releases on stalled progress in increasing racial diversity at selective institutions, on good jobs in rural America, and on the misalignment between supply and demand for middle-skills credentials within local labor markets. Please watch your email and our website for these new releases, which reflect the expertise and dedication of the CEW team.
As CEW charts its course forward, I want to pause for a moment to sincerely thank the supporters who came out in droves to express their (your) respect and gratitude for CEW’s work under Dr. Carnevale’s leadership—as well as your confidence in our continued success. And finally, my deepest appreciation goes to Dr. Carnevale, whose founding vision brought us here and will continue to be our guiding light.
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