1895: President William Rainey Harper appointed John Dewey as Professor of Philosophy,
Pedagogy, and Psychology.
1931: The Department of Education became one of the original members of the Division of the
Social Sciences.
1958: With funds from the Ford Foundation for training well qualified teachers, the University
created a Graduate School of Education, with a separate faculty, whose Dean was also the Chair
of the Department of Education.
1975: The School of Education was merged with the Department of Education within the social
sciences division. The Department of Education became the only organized unit at the University
of Chicago dedicated to research in education, the training of teachers, and the training of
education professors.
Fall 1995: The Department of Education undertook a self-study (voluntarily
but at the request of
the dean). About this time, the division stopped sending applications for the Department of
Education to prospective students who asked for them. The Department of Education was not
informed of this action, and the division resumed sending applications only after the Education
Department chair was alerted by a prospective student.
Spring 1996: Two outside and two inside reviewers completed a report on the future
of the department and submitted it to Dean Saller.
July 1996: Saller announced to the faculty of the Department of Education that he was
recommending that the department be closed in 2001.
November 13, 1996: The faculty of the division of social sciences will vote on the dean's
recommendation. Following the vote the provost and the president will make the final decision.