As part of the wider effort to further strengthen and sustain the Harris School—its faculty, programs, number of quality applicants, events, alumni community, and more—several friends of the School have recently funded professorships. Following last spring’s Daniel Levin Professorship in Public Policy are two new professorships, named for Emmett Dedmon and the Steans family.

THE EMMETT DEDMON PROFESSORSHIP IN PUBLIC POLICY

Established in honor of the late Emmett Dedmon, a prominent University alumnus whose notable career included many years at the Chicago Sun-Times, the professorship will reflect his belief in a full and free discussion of public policy issues and appointees will demonstrate a strong commitment to teaching.

In announcing the professorship, Dean Susan E. Mayer stated, “I am delighted that we will be able to honor the memory of such a dear friend to the University and a strong advocate for open dialogue in public policy issues. We are indebted to Mr. Dedmon’s family and friends, who have made this professorship possible.”

Dedmon received his AB from the University of Chicago in 1939 and went on to a prestigious career in journalism with the Chicago Sun-Times as a writer and author, and as its editor for many years. He wrote Fabulous Chicago, the best-selling history of Chicago, and late in his career worked as a senior consultant with Hill & Knowlton, Inc., a leading international public relations firm.

Dedmon’s son, Jonathan, who with family and friends of his father was instrumental in creating the professorship, remarked, “I think there are certain experiences in all our lives that fundamentally change them. For my father, a minister’s son from the small town of Fairbury, Nebraska, the University of Chicago was clearly that experience. The intellectual excitement and rigor he experienced at the University under Hutchins transformed him and laid the foundation for his later success as a journalist and editor, author, unabashed Sinophile, public relations counselor, as well as a lifelong friend, supporter, and volunteer of the University. There are no words to describe how extremely proud and pleased he would be that a chair at the University’s Harris School of Public Policy Studies bears his name or to express the gratitude he would have for his friends who raised the money to make it possible.”

THE STEANS FAMILY PROFESSORSHIP IN EDUCATION POLICY

Reflecting the dedication of Harrison Steans, his wife Lois, and daughters Heather, Jennifer, and Robin to bettering society, this professorship will further support research and teaching focused on understanding and improving education policy, particularly as it relates to students from communities dealing with problems of poverty and unemployment. The Steans believe that good schools are essential to breaking the cycle of these issues for young people.

“We are pleased and proud to have a chair in the name of the Steans family, whose commitment to addressing issues of urban poverty is unremitting,” said Dean Mayer.

The Steans created the Steans Family Foundation in 1986, when the family sponsored a group of sixth graders through the “I Have a Dream” program. Inspired by that experience, the family expanded the foundation in 1995 to deal with urban challenges facing residents of struggling communities. They decided to focus their efforts on a single community—North Lawndale, on Chicago’s West Side. This concentrated mission allows the family to become personally involved in the foundation’s programs.

The foundation partners with local residents and organizations to provide programs that enhance all aspects of the North Lawndale community—including health and human services, education and youth development, housing and economic development, employment and training, leadership and capacity building, and family and community asset building. The foundation is a familiar presence in the North Lawndale community, where its programs have had a direct, positive impact on the quality of life of residents. For more information about the Steans Family Foundation, visit www.steansfamilyfoundation.org.

Harrison Steans is a member of the Harris School Visiting Committee. In addition to serving as Chairman of the Steans Family Foundation, Steans is the Chairman of the Executive Committee of Financial Investments Corporation (FIC), a private equity investment firm founded in 1994.